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BOYS'  BOOK  OF  INDIAN 
WARRIORS 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/boysbookofindianOOsabirich 


Chief  Joseph 
Courtesy  of  The  American  Bureau  of  Ethnology 


BOYS'  BOOK  OF 
INDIAN  WARRIORS 

AND 
HEROIC  INDIAN  WOMEN 


BY 

EDWIN  L.  SABIN 


PHILADELPHIA 

GEORGE  W.  JACOBS  &  COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 


Copyright,  1918,  "by 
George  W.  Jacobs  d  Company 


»•  . c     • . • 


All  rights  reserved 
Printed  in  U.  S.  A. 


Alas!  for  them,  their  day  is  o'er, 

Their  fires  are  out  on  hill  and  shore ; 

No  more  for  them  the  wild  deer  bounds, 

The  plough  is  on  their  hunting  grounds ; 

The  pale  man's  axe  rings  through  their  woods, 

The  pale  man 's  sail  skims  o  'er  their  floods, 

Their  pleasant  springs  are  dry; 
•  ••****'* 

Chables  Spragub. 


ivi5754.6 


FOREWOED 

When  the  white  race  came  into  the  country  of  the 
red  race,  the  red  race  long  had  had  their  own  ways  of 
living  and  their  own  code  of  right  and  wrong.  They 
were  red,  but  they  were  thinking  men  and  women,  not 
mere  animals. 

The  white  people  brought  their  ways,  which  were 
different  from  the  Indians'  ways.  So  the  two  races 
could  not  live  together. 

To  the  white  people,  many  methods  of  the  Indians 
were  wrong;  to  the  Indians,  many  of  the  white  people's 
methods  were  wrong.  The  white  people  won  the  ruler- 
ship,  because  they  had  upon  their  side  a  civilization 
stronger  than  the  loose  civilization  of  the  red  people, 
and  were  able  to  carry  out  their  plans. 

The  white  Americans  formed  one  nation,  with  one 
language;  the  red  Americans  formed  many  nations, 
with  many  languages. 

The  Indian  fought  as  he  had  always  fought,  and 
ninety-nine  times  out  of  one  hundred  he  firmly  believed 
that  he  was  enforcing  the  right.  The  white  man  fought 
after  his  own  custom  and  sometimes  after  the  Indian 's 
custom  also ;  and  not  infrequently  he  knew  that  he  was 
enforcing  a  wrong. 

Had  the  Indians  been  enabled  to  act  all  together,  they 
would  have  held  their  land,  just  as  the  Americans  of 
today  would  hold  their  land  against  the  invader. 


FOREWORD 


Of  course,  the  Indian  was  not  wholly  right,  and  the 
white  man  was  not  wholly  wrong.  There  is  much  to 
be  said,  by  either,  and  there  were  brave  chiefs  and 
warriors  on  both  sides. 

This  book  is  written  according  to  the  Indian's  view 
of  matters,  so  that  we  may  be  better  acquainted  with 
his  thoughts.  The  Indians  now  living  do  not  apologize 
for  what  their  fathers  and  grandfathers  did.  A  man 
who  defends  what  he  believes  are  his  rights  is  a  pa- 
triot, whether  they  really  are  his  rights,  or  not. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAOB 

I     PiSKARET    THE    ADIRONDACK    CHAMPION     (1644)       .       .      15 

How  He  Scouted  Against  the  Iroquois 

II      PiSKABET  THE  ADIRONDACK   CHAMPION    (1645-1047)     . 

How  He  Brouglit  Peace  to  the  Forests 

III  Opechancanough,     Sachem    of    the    Pamunkeys 

(1607H-1644) 

Who  Fought  at  the  Age  of  One  Hundi-ed 

IV  King  Philip  the  Wampanoag  (1662-1676)    . 

The  Terror  of  New  England 

V    The  Squaw  Sachem  of  Pocasset  (1675-1676) 
And  Canonchet  of  the  Big  Heart 

VI    The  Bloody  Belt  of  Pontiac  (1760-1763)   . 
When  It  Passed  Among  the  Red  Nations 

VII    The  Bloody  Belt  of  Pontiac  (1763-1769)   . 
How  an  Indian  Girl  Saved  Fort  Detroit 


VIII    Logan  the  Great  Mingo  (1725-1774)  .     .     . 
And  the  Evil  Days  that  Came  Upon  Him 

IX    Cornstalk  Leads  the  Warriors   (1774-1777) 
How  He  and  Logan  Strove  and  Died 

X    Little  Turtle  of  the  Miamis  (1790-1791)   . 
He  Wins  Great  Victories 

XI    Little  Turtle  Fears  the  Big  Wind  (1792-1812) 
And  It  Blows  Him  into  Peace 

XII    The  Voice  from  the  Open  Door  (1805-1811)   . 
How  It  Traveled  Through  the  Land 


25 


34 


41 


59 


71 


80 


90 


101 


.  114 


129 


136 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 
XIII 


XIV 

XV 

XVI 

XVII 

XVIII 

XIX 

XX 

XXI 

XXII 

XXIII 

XXIV 

XXV 

XXVI 


PAGE 

152 


167 


182 


Brigadier  General  Tecumseh   (1812-1813)    .     . 
The  Rise  and  Fall  of  a  Star 

The  Red  Sticks  at  Horseshoe  Bend  (1813-1814) 
And  the  Wonderful  Escape  of  Chief  Menewa 

Black-Hawk  the  Sac  Patriot  (1831-1838)   . 
The  Indian  Who  Did  Not  Understand 

The  Bird-Woman  Guide  (1805-1806)   .     .     . 
Sacagawea  Helps  the  White  Men 

The  Lance  of  Mahtotohpa  (1822-1837)   .     . 
Hero  Tales  by  Four  Bears  the  Mandan 

A  Search  for  the  Book  of  Heaven  (1832)    . 
The  Long  Trail  of  the  Pierced  Noses 

A  Traveler  to  Washington  (1831-1835)  .     . 
Wijunjon,  the  "Big  Liar"  of  the  Assiniboins 

The  Blackfeet  Defy  the  Crows  (1834)    .     . 
"Come  and  Take  Us!" 

The  Strong  Medicine  of  Konate  (1839)  .     . 
The  Story  of  the  Kiowa  Magic  Staff 

Red  Cloud  Stands  in  the  Way  (1865-1909)  . 
The  Sioux  Who  Closed  the  Road  of  the  Whites 

Standing  Bear  Seeks  a  Home  (1877-1880)    . 
The  Indian  Who  Won  the  White  Man's  Verdict 

Sitting  Bull  the  War  Maker  (1876-1881)    . 
An  Unconquered  Leader 

Chief  Joseph  Goes  to  War  (1877)      .     .     . 
And  Out-Generals  the  United  States  Army 

The  Ghost  Dancers  and  the  Red  Soldiers  (1889- 
1890) 330 

And  Sitting  Bull's  Last  Medicine 


202 


215 


228 


235 


244 


254 


264 


282 


292 


309 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Chief  Joseph Frontispiece 

King  Philip P''"''^  f'^'    *2 

Pontiac,  The  Red  Napoleon '* 

**        **     150 
An  Indian  Brave 

Young  Kiowa  Girl 


"    256 


Red  Cloud ^^* 

II  I  (        OQO 

Standing  Bear ^©^ 

**  **     904. 

Sitting  Bull    . ^^ 


BOYS'  BOOK 
OF  INDIAN  WARRIORS 


BOYS'  BOOK  OF  INDIAN 
WARRIORS 

CHAPTER  I    :. '  .':■  \    ii-'r;'".-  ';■, 

PISKARET  THE  ADIRONDACK  CHAMPION  (1644) 
HOW  HE  SCOUTED  AGAINST  THE  HIOQUOIS 

IT  was  in  early  spring,  about  the  year  1644,  that  the 
warrior  Piskaret  of  the  Adirondack  tribe  of  the 
Algonkins  set  forth  alone  from  the  island  Allumette 
in  the  Ottawa  River,  Canada,  to  seek  his  enemies  the 
Iroquois. 

For  there  long  had  been  bitter,  bitter  war  between 
the  vengeful  Algonkins  ^  and  the  cruel  Hurons  on  the 
one  side,  and  the  proud,  even  crueler  Five  Nations  of 
the  Iroquois  on  the  other  side.  At  first  the  Adiron- 
dacks  had  driven  the  Mohawks  out  of  lower  Canada 
and  into  northern  New  York;  but  of  late  all  the  Al- 
gonkins, all  the  Hurons,  and  the  French  garrisons  their 
allies,  had  been  unable  to  stem  the  tide  of  the  fierce 
Iroquois,  rolling  back  into  Canada  again. 

**Iri-a-khoiw''  was  the  Algonkin  name  for  them, 
meaning      *^  adder.''    The      French      termed      them 

1  The  noun  Algonkin,  meaning  an  Indian,  is  also  spelled  Algonquin. 
But  the  adjective  from  this  noun  is  spelled  Algonquian  when  applied  to 
Indians,  and  Algonkian  when  applied  to  a  time  or  period  in  geology. 

15 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

^'Mingos/'  from  another  Algonkin  word  meaning 
^^ stealthy.''  The  English  and  Dutch  colonists  in 
America  knew  them  as  the  Five  Nations.  Their  x)wn 
title  was  ^^ People  of  the  Long  House/'  as  if  the  five 
nations  were  one  family  housed  all  together  under 
one  roof. 

':  The  Mohawks,  the  Senecas,  the  Onondagas,  the 
.  Oneidas  and.  the  Cayugas— these  composed  the 
Iroquois  iea^6  of  the  Five  Nations  against  the  world 
of  enemies.  The  league  rapidly  spread  in  power,  until 
the  dreaded  Iroquois  were  styled  the  Eomans  of  the 
West. 

But  nearly  three  hundred  years  ago  they  were  only 
beginning  to  rise.  Their  home  was  in  central  New 
York,  from  the  Mohawk  country  at  the  Hudson  Eiver 
west  to  the  Seneca  country  ahnost  to  Lake  Erie.  In 
this  wide  tract  were  their  five  principal  towns,  fortified 
by  ditches  and  log  palisades.  From  here  they  carried 
war  south  clear  to  the  Cherokees  of  Tennessee,  west 
clear  into  the  land  of  the  Illinois,  and  north  to  the 
Algonkins  at  Quebec  of  the  lower  St.  Lawrence  River. 

Twelve  or  fifteen  thousand  people  they  numbered. 
Mohawks,  Senecas,  Onondagas,  Oneidas  and  Cayugas 
still  survive,  as  many  as  ever  and  ranking  high  among 
the  civilized  Indians  of  North  America. 

The  Hurons  lived  to  the  northwest,  in  a  smaller  coun- 
try along  the  shores  of  Georgian  Bay  of  southeastern 
Lake  Huron,  in  Canada. 

**Hurons"  they  were  called  by  the  French,  meaning 
** bristly"  or  ^* savage  haired,"  for  they  wore  their 
coarse  black  hair  in  many  fantastic  cuts,  but  the  favor- 

16 


THE  ADIRONDACK  CHAMPION 

ite  fasMon  was  that  of  a  stiff  roach  or  mane  extending 
from  the  forehead  to  the  nape  of  the  neck,  like  the 
bristles  of  a  wild  boar's  back  or  the  comb  of  a  rooster. 
By  the  Algonkins  they  were  called  ** serpents/'  also. 
Their  own  name  for  themselves  was  "Wendat/*  or 
** People  of  the  Peninsula'' — a  word  which  the  Eng- 
lish wrote  as  ** Wyandot." 

They  were  of  the  Iroquois  family,  but  for  seventy- 
five  years  and  more  they  had  been  at  war  with  their 
cousins  of  the  south.  They,  too,  had  their  principal 
fortified  towns,  and  their  league,  of  four  independent 
nations  and  four  protected  nations,  numbering  twenty 
thousand.  Like  those  of  the  Iroquois,  some  of  their 
bark  houses  were  five  hundred  feet  long,  for  twenty 
families.  Yet  of  this  powerful  people  there  remain 
today  only  about  four  hundred  Hurons,  near  Quebec, 
and  as  many  Wyandots  in  Canada  and  the  former  In- 
dian Territory  of  Oklahoma. 

The  Algonkins  lived  farther  north,  along  the  Ottawa 
Eiver,  and  the  St.  Lawrence  to  the  east.  **  Place  of 
spearing  eel  and  fish  from  a  canoe,"  is  the  best  that 
we  may  get  from  the  word  *  *  Algonkin. ' '  The  ^  *  Eaised 
Hair"  people  did  the  French  first  term  them,  because 
they  wore  their  hair  pompadoured.  But  Adirondack 
was  a  Mohawk  word,  *  *  Hatirontaks, "  **  Eaters  of 
Trees,"  accusing  the  Adirondacks  of  being  so  hungry 
in  winter  that  they  ate  bark. 

In  summer  the  men  went  naked;  in  winter  they 
donned  a  fur  cape.  They  were  noted  warriors,  hunters 
and  fishers,  and  skillful  in  making  shell  ornaments. 
As  the  ** Nation  of  the  Island"  also  were  they  known 

17 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

to  the  French  explorers,  because  their  headquarters 
were  upon  that  large  island  of  AUumette  in  the  Ottawa 
Eiver  above  present  Ottawa  of  Canada. 

The  several  tribes  of  Algonkins  found  by  the  French 
in  Canada  were  only  a  small  portion  of  those  American 
Indians  speaking  in  the  Algonquian  tongue.  The  im- 
mense Algonquian  family  covered  North  America  from 
the  Atlantic  to  the  Mississippi,  and  reached  even  to  the 
Eocky  Mountains.  The  Indians  met  by  the  Pilgrim 
Fathers  were  Algonquians ;  King  Philip  was  an  Algon- 
quian; the  Shawnees  of  Tecumseh  were  Algonquians; 
the  Sacs  and  Foxes  of  Chief  Black-hawk  were  Algon- 
quians ;  the  Chippewas  of  Canada  and  the  Winnebagos 
from  Wisconsin  are  Algonquians ;  so  are  the  Arapahos 
and  Cheyennes  of  the  plains  and  the  Blackfeet  of 
Montana. 

The  bark  lodges  of  the  Algonkins  were  round  and 
peaked  like  a  cone,  instead  of  being  long  and  ridged  like 
those  of  the  Iroquois  and  Hurons.  Of  the  Algonkins 
of  Canada  there  are  sixteen  hundred,  today ;  there  are 
no  Adirondacks,  under  that  name. 

Now  in  1644  the  proud  Iroquois  hated  the  Algonkins, 
hated  the  Hurons,  and  had  hated  the  French  for  thirty- 
five  years,  since  the  brave  gentleman  adventurer,  Sam- 
uel de  Champlain,  having  founded  Quebec  in  1608,  had 
marched  against  them  with  his  armor,  his  powder  and 
ball,  and  the  triumphantly  whooping  enemy. 

The  Iroquois  never  forgave  the  French  for  this. 
And  indeed  a  truly  savage  warfare  it  had  become,  here 
in  this  northern  country  on  either  side  of  the  border 
between  New  York  and  Canada :  where  the  winters  were 

18 


THE  ADIRONDACK  CHAMPION 

long  and  piercingly  cold,  where  hunger  frequently 
stalked,  where  travel  was  by  canoe  on  the  noble  St. 
Lawrence,  the  swift  Ottawa,  the  Richelieu,  the  lesser 
streams  and  lakes,  and  by  snowshoe  or  moccasin 
through  the  heavy  forests;  where  the  Indians  rarely 
failed  to  torture  their  captives  in  manner  too  horrid 
to  relate;  and  where  the  only  white  people  were  300 
French  soldiers,  fur-traders,  laborers,  priests  and 
nuns,  mainly  at  Quebec,  and  new  Montreal,  on  the  St. 
Lawrence,  and  the  little  trading-post  of  Three  Rivers, 
half  way  between  the  two. 

Algonkins  and  Hurons  were  accepting  the  French  as 
allies.  They  listened,  sometimes  in  earnest,  sometimes 
in  cunning,  to  the  teachings  of  those  '*  Black  Robes,  *^ 
the  few  fearless  priests  who  sought  them  out.  The 
priests,  bravest  of  the  brave,  journeyed  unarmed  and 
far,  even  among  the  scornful  Iroquois,  enduring  torture 
by  fire  and  knife,  the  torment  of  mosquitoes,  cold  and 
famine,  and  draughty,  crowded  bark  houses  smother- 
ingly  thick  with  damp  wood  smoke. 

In  spite  of  cross  and  sword,  (trying  to  tame  them,) 
the  Iroquois  were  waxing  ever  bolder.  They  were  well 
supplied  with  match-lock  guns  obtained  by  the  Mo- 
hawks from  the  Dutch  of  the  Hudson  River.  From 
their  five  towns  ruled  by  a  grand  council  of  fifty  chiefs 
they  constantly  sent  out  their  raiding  parties  into  the 
north.  These,  darting  half-crouched  in  single  file 
through  the  dark  timber,  creeping  silently  in  their 
canoes  by  road  of  the  dark  rivers,  suddenly  fell  like 
starved  wolves  upon  whomsoever  they  sighted,  be  that 
near  Quebec  itself;  killed  them,  or  captured  them,  to 

19 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

hustle  them  away,  break  their  bones,  burn  their  bodies, 
eat  of  them ;  and  returned  for  more. 

Algonkins  and  Hurons  were  cruel,  too,  and  crafty ;  but 
they  were  being  beaten  by  greater  craft  and  better  arms. 

So  now  we  come  again  to  Piskaret,  of  the  Adiron- 
dacks,  whose  home  was  upon  that  large  island  of  Allu- 
mette,  governed  by  the  haughty  Algonkin  chief  Le 
Borgne,  or  The  One-Eye. 

Simon  Piskaret  was  his  full  name  as  recorded  in  the 
mission  books,  for  he  and  others  of  Allumette  Island 
had  been  baptised  by  the  priests.  But  with  them  this 
was  much  a  method  of  getting  protection,  food  and 
powder  from  these  French;  and  an  old  writer  of  1647 
says  that  Piskaret  was  a  Christian  only  by  **  appear- 
ance and  policy. ' ' 

However,  the  case  of  the  Algonkins  and  the  Hurons 
was  growing  very  desperate.  They  risked  their  lives 
every  time  they  ventured  into  the  forests,  and  Piskaret 
was  ashamed  of  being  cooped  in.  Once  the  Adiron- 
dacks  had  been  mighty.  Hot  desire  to  strike  another 
blow  flamed  high  in  his  heart.  Therefore  in  this  early 
spring  of  1644,  ere  yet  the  snows  were  fairly  melted, 
he  strode  away,  alone,  with  snowshoes,  bent  upon  doing 
some  great  deed. 

His  course  was  southeast,  from  the  river  Ottawa  to 
cross  the  frozen  St.  Lawrence,  and  speed  onward  100 
miles  for  the  Lake  Champlain  country  of  the  New 
York-Canada  border  line,  where  he  certainly  would 
find  the  Iroquois. 

By  day  and  night  he  traveled,  clad  in  his  moccasins 
and  fur  mantle.     Then  when  he  reached  the  range  of 

20 


THE  ADIRONDACK  CHAMPION 

the  Iroquois  he  reversed  his  snowshoes,  so  that  they 
pointed  backward.  The  Iroquois  who  might  see  his 
trail  would  know  that  these  were  the  prints  of  Al- 
gonkin  snowshoes,  but  they  would  think  that  here  had 
been  only  an  Algonkin  hastening  home.  If  they  fol- 
lowed, they  would  be  going  in  one  direction  and  he 
in  another ! 

His  progress  was  slower,  now,  for  it  is  hard  to 
make  time  in  snowshoes  pointing  backward ;  and  pres- 
ently he  took  pains  to  pick  a  way  by  keeping  to  the 
ridges  and  the  south  slopes  from  which  the  snow  had 
melted.  His  eyes  and  ears  needs  must  be  alert;  no 
sharper  woodsmen  ever  lived,  than  the  keen  woMsh 
Iroquois. 

At  last,  in  the  forest,  he  came  upon  Iroquois  sign; 
next,  peering  and  listening  and  sniffing,  he  smelled 
wood  smoke ;  and  stealing  on,  from  tree  to  tree,  he  dis- 
covered the  site  of  an  Iroquois  winter  village,  set  in  a 
clearing  amidst  the  timber. 

For  the  rest  of  that  day  he  hid  out ;  that  night,  after 
all  had  quieted,  with  war-club  and  knife  ready  he 
slipped  like  a  shadow  in  among  the  very  lodges.  Not 
even  a  dog  sensed  him  as  he  stood  questing  about  for 
another  hiding  place. 

Aha,  he  had  it !  Both  the  Hurons  and  the  Iroquois 
laid  in  large  stocks  of  fire  wood,  by  forming  piles  of 
logs  slanted  together  on  end;  and  in  one  pile,  here, 
was  an  opening  through  which  he  might  squeeze  into 
the  center  space,  there  to  squat  as  under  a  tent.  The 
ground  in  the  village  had  been  scraped  bare  of  snow; 
he  would  leave  no  tracks. 

21 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

Having  thus  experimented  and  arranged,  Piskaret 
drew  a  long  breath,  grasped  his  war-club,  and  stealthily 
pushing  aside  the  loose  birch-bark  door-flap  of  the 
nearest  lodge,  peeped  inside.  By  the  ember  light  he 
saw  that  every  Iroquois,  man  and  woman,  was  fast 
asleep,  under  furs,  on  spruce  boughs  around  the  fire. 

Now  Piskaret  swiftly  entered,  without  a  sound  killed 
them  all,  scalped  them,  and  fled  to  his  wood-pile. 

Early  in  the  grayness  of  morning  he  heard  a  great 
cry,  swelling  louder  and  louder  until  the  forest  echoed. 
It  was  a  cry  of  grief  and  of  rage.  The  strangely 
silent  lodge  had  been  investigated  and  his  bloody  work 
was  known.  Feet  thudded  past  his  wood-pile,  hasty 
figures  brushed  against  it,  as  the  best  warriors  of  the 
village  bolted  for  the  timber,  to  circle  until  they 
found  the  tracks  of  their  enemy.  But  if  they  found 
any  snowshoe  tracks  made  by  a  stranger,  these  led  out, 
not  in. 

So  that  day  the  Iroquois  pursued  furiously  and 
vainly,  while  Piskaret  crouched  snug  in  his  wood-pile, 
listened  to  the  clamor,  and  laughed  to  himself. 

At  evening  the  weary  Iroquois  returned,  foiled  and 
puzzled.  Their  nimblest  trailers  had  not  even  sighted 
the  bold  raider.  This  night  Piskaret  again  waited 
until  all  was  quiet;  again  he  ventured  forth,  slipped 
inside  a  lodge,  killed  and  scalped,  and  retreated  to 
his  wood-pile. 

And  again,  with  the  morning  arose  that  shrill  up- 
roar of  grief  and  vengeance  and  the  warriors  scurried 
into  the  forest. 

By  evening  the  Iroquois  were  not  only  mystified  but 

22 


THE  ADIRONDACK  CHAMPION 

much  alarmed.  Who  was  this  thing  that  struck  in 
the  night  and  left  no  trail?  An  evil  spirit  had  come 
among  them — roosted  perhaps  in  the  trees ! 

If  a  squaw  had  removed  a  log  or  two  from  the 
pile  Piskaret  would  have  been  torn  to  pieces,  but  for- 
tune still  stayed  with  him  and  he  was  not  molested 
save  by  cold  and  hunger. 

Tonight,  however,  the  Iroquois  chattered  affright- 
edly  until  late;  and  when,  after  the  noises  had  died 
away,  Piskaret,  cramped  and  chilled  but  eager,  for  a 
third  time  stole  through  the  darkness  to  a  lodge,  he 
knew  that  his  game  was  up.  In  this  lodge  two  watchers 
had  been  posted — one  at  either  end;  and  they  were 
awake. 

The  same  in  the  next  lodge,  and  the  next.  Wherever 
he  applied  his  eye  to  a  crack  in  the  bark  walls,  he  saw 
two  sentries,  armed  and  alert — until  finally  he  arrived 
at  a  lodge  wherein  one  of  the  sentries,  the  one  near 
the  door,  was  squatted  drowsy  and  half  asleep. 

So  Piskaret  softly  placed  his  bundle  of  scalps  where 
he  might  find  it  instantly,  on  a  sudden  threw  aside  the 
birch-bark  door-flap,  struck  terribly  with  his  club, 
yelled  his  war-cry  that  all  might  hear,  grabbed  his 
bundle  of  scalps  and  ran  hard  for  the  forest.  From 
every  lodge  the  Iroquois  poured  in  pursuit. 

All  the  rest  of  this  night  he  ran,  making  northward, 
with  the  Iroquois  pelting  and  whooping  after ;  but  the 
records  say  that  he  was  the  swiftest  runner  in  the 
North — therefore  he  had  little  fear  of  being  overtaken. 

All  the  next  day  he  ran,  only  now  and  then  pausing, 
to  show  himself,  and  yell,  and  tempt  the  Iroquois  on- 

23 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

ward;  for  he  had  another  plan.  At  night-fall  there 
were  but  six  Iroquois  left  on  his  trail,  and  these  were 
about  worn  out. 

Now  in  the  gathering  darkness,  noting  his  enemies 
falter,  Piskaret  sprang  aside  to  a  hollow  tree  and  hid. 
himself  again.  The  tired  Iroquois  straggled  near,  and 
when  they  lost  the  trail  they  willingly  quit,  in  order  to 
roll  in  their  bear-skins  and  sleep  until  the  light  of 
morning. 

Whereupon,  after  granting  them  a  little  time,  Pis- 
karet crept  out,  killed  every  one  of  them,  added  their 
six  scalps  to  his  package,  and  having  rested  until  day, 
sped  north,  with  his  dreadful  trophies,  to  report  at  the 
island  of  Allumette. 

That  this  is  a  true  story  of  the  famous  Adirondack 
warrior  Piskaret  may  be  proved  by  the  old  French 
chronicles  of  those  very  times. 


24 


CHAPTER  II 

PISKARET  THE  ADIRONDACK  CHAMPION"  (1645-1647) 
HOW   HE  BROUGHT   PEACE   TO   THE   FORESTS 

PISKARET  was  a  hero.  From  lip  to  lip  the 
story  of  his  lone  trail  was  repeated  through  the 
bark  lodges  of  the  Algonkins,  and  the  long  houses  of 
the  fierce  Hurons,  and  even  among  the  gentle  nuns  and 
gaunt  priests  of  the  brave  mission  settlements  upon  the 
lower  St.  Lawrence  River. 

But  the  nuns  and  priests  did  not  favor  such  bloody 
deeds,  which  led  only  to  more.  Their  teachings  were 
all  of  peace  rather  than  war  between  men.  Yet  each 
and  every  one  of  them  was  as  bold  as  Piskaret,  and  to 
bring  about  peace  would  gladly  go  as  far  as  he,  and 
farther. 

Now  he  did  not  lack  followers.  In  the  early  spring 
of  1645,  scarce  a  twelve-month  after  his  famous  lone 
scout,  he  took  with  him  six  other  ** Christian*^  Algonkin 
warriors,  again  to  hunt  the  Iroquois. 

Upon  the  large  island  in  the  St.  Lawrence  River,  just 
below  the  mouth  of  the  Algonkin 's  River  Ottawa,  the 
fort  and  mission  of  Montreal  had  been  built,  much  to 
the  rage  of  the  roving  Iroquois.  It  was  the  farthest 
up-river  of  the  French  settlements,  and  in  the  midst 
of  the  Iroquois  favorite  scouting  grounds. 

So  bitter  were  the  Iroquois,  that  all  the  fall  and  all 
the  winter  Montreal  had  been  in  a  state  of  siege. 

25 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

Tired  of  such  one-sided  warfare,  Piskaret  resolved 
to  strike  another  blow.  The  broad  St.  Lawrence  was 
fast  locked  by  the  winter's  ice.  His  small  party- 
dragged  their  three  canoes  over  the  level  snowy  sur- 
face, and  on  eastward  across  a  tongue  of  timbered 
land,  to  the  River  Richelieu.  This  connects  Lake 
Champlain  of  New  York  and  the  St.  Lawrence  in 
Canada. 

The  Richelieu,  flo^ving  black  and  deep,  had  opened. 
It  was  the  water-trail  of  the  Iroquois,  and  especially 
of  the  Mohawks.  By  it  they  made  their  forays  north 
to  the  St.  Lawrence  and  the  camps  of  their  enemies. 

Every  thicket  along  its  banks  and  every  curve  in  its 
course  was  likely  to  be  an  ambush;  but  the  fearless 
Piskaret  party  ascended  clear  to  Lake  Champlain  it- 
self. Here  they  landed  upon  an  island,  concealed  them- 
selves and  their  canoes  in  the  wintry  forest,  and  waited. 

One  day  they  heard  a  gun-shot.  Some  Iroquois  were 
about,  upon  the  lake  or  upon  the  mainland. 

**Come,*'  spoke  Piskaret,  to  his  party.  **Let  us  eat. 
It  may  be  the  last  time,  for  we  will  have  to  die  instead 
of  run.'' 

After  they  had  eaten,  they  saw  two  canoes  making 
straight  for  the  island.  Each  canoe  held  seven  Iro- 
quois.   That  counted  up  fourteen,  or  two  to  one. 

However,  the  Piskaret  party  had  the  advantage  of 
position.  They  hid  in  the  bushes  at  the  place  for  which 
the  canoes  were  heading. 

**Let  us  each  choose  a  man  in  the  nrst  canoe,"  di- 
rected Piskaret,  *  *  and  take  sure  aim,  and  fire  together. '' 

The  volley  by  the  Algonkins  was  so  deadly  that  every 

26 


THE  ADIRONDACK  CHAMPION 

one  of  the  six  balls  killed  an  Iroquois.  The  seventh 
warrior  dived  overboard,  and  escaped  by  swimming  to 
the  other  canoe.     That  had  been  swift  work. 

But  the  Iroquois  were  brave.  Of  the  Mohawk  tribe, 
these.  Instead  of  turning  about,  to  get  help,  the  eight 
warriors,  whooping  in  rage,  paddled  furiously  along 
the  shore,  to  land  at  another  spot  and  give  battle. 

Piskaret's  Algonkins  ran  hard  to  head  them  off,  and 
met  the  canoe  again.  At  the  shore  one  of  the  Iroquois 
sighted  them,  and  stood  up  to  fire.  They  shot  him,  so 
that  he  tumbled  overboard  and  capsized  the  canoe. 

The  seven  Mohawks  were  now  in  the  water;  but  the 
water  was  shallow,  and  splashing  through,  they  bored 
right  in,  like  bulldogs. 

The  Piskaret  Algonkins  had  need  to  shoot  fast  and 
true.  The  Mohawks  feared  nothing,  and  despised  Al- 
gonkins. Besides,  they  now  knew  that  Piskaret  was 
before  them,  and  his  scalp  they  considered  a  great 
prize. 

The  Mohawks  lost  this  battle.  Before  they  could 
gain  shelter,  of  their  seven  four  had  been  killed,  two 
had  been  captured,  and  there  was  only  one  who 
escaped. 

No  time  was  to  be  lost.  The  sounds  of  the  battle 
probably  had  been  heard. 

*  ^  We  have  done  well, '  ■  said  Piskaret.  *  *  Now  we  may 
run. ' ' 

So  they  launched  their  canoes,  and  with  two  prison- 
ers and  eleven  scalps  they  plied  their  paddles  at  best 
speed  for  the  Eichelieu. 

Down  the  Eichelieu,  and  down  the  St.  Lawrence, 

27 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

nothing  disagreeable  happened,  save  that,  when  one  of 
the  Mohawks  (a  large,  out-spoken  warrior)  defied  the 
Algonkins  to  do  their  worst  upon  him,  and  called  them 
weaklings,  he  was  struck  across  the  mouth,  to  silence 
him. 

**  Where  are  you  taking  us,  thenT' 

**We  are  taking  you  to  the  French  governor  at  Que- 
bec. He  is  our  father,  and  you  belong  to  him,  not  to 
us." 

That  indeed  was  surprising  news.  Usually  the 
Hurons  and  the  Algonkins  refused  to  deliver  any  of 
their  prisoners  to  the  missions  or  the  forts,  but  carried 
them  away  to  the  torture. 

The  Eichelieu  empties  into  the  St.  Lawrence  below 
Montreal.  On  down  the  St.  Lawrence,  thick  with  melt- 
ing ice,  hastened  the  canoes,  until  Quebec,  the  capital 
of  the  province,  was  within  sight. 

Four  miles  above  Quebec  there  had  been  founded  an- 
other mission  for  Christian  Indians.  It  was  named 
Sillery.  Here  a  number  of  Algonkins  had  erected  a 
village  of  log  huts,  on  a  flat  beside  the  river,  under  the 
protection  of  a  priests'  house,  church  and  hospital. 

As  they  approached  Sillery,  the  Piskaret  party 
raised  their  eleven  scalps  on  eleven  long  poles.  While 
they  drifted,  they  chanted  a  song  of  triumph,  and  beat 
time  to  it  by  striking  their  paddles,  all  together,  upon 
the  gunwales  of  their  canoes. 

The  two  captives,  believing  that  the  hour  of  torture 
was  near,  sang  their  own  songs  of  defiance. 

That  was  a  strange  sight,  to  be  nearing  Sillery.  So 
ithe  good  father  in  charge  of  Sillery  sent  a  runner  to 

28 


THE  ADIRONDACK  CHAMPION 

Quebec.  He  himself,  with  his  assistants,  joined  the 
crowd  of  Algonkins  gathered  at  the  river  shore. 

The  canoes  came  on.  The  scalps  and  the  two  prison- 
ers were  plain  to  be  seen.  Piskaret !  It  was  the  noted 
warrior  Piskaret!  Guns  were  being  fired,  whoops 
were  being  exchanged,  and  the  mission  father  waited, 
hopeful  and  astonished. 

Now  the  chief  of  the  Sillery  Algonkins,  who  had  been 
baptised  to  the  name  of  Jean  Baptiste,  made  a  speech 
of  welcome,  from  the  shore.  Standing  upright  in  his 
canoe,  Piskaret  the  champion  replied.  And  now  a 
squad  of  French  soldiers,  hurrying  in  from  Quebec, 
added  to  the  excitement  with  a  volley  of  salute. 

Piskaret  landed,  proud  not  only  that  he  had  again 
whipped  the  Iroquois,  but  that  he  had  acted  like  a 
Christian  toward  his  captives.  He  had  not  burned 
them  nor  gnawed  off  their  finger  tips.  And  instead  of 
giving  them  over  for  torture  by  other  Algonkins,  he 
had  brought  them  clear  down  the  river,  to  the  governor. 

The  scalp  trophies  were  planted,  like  flags,  over  the 
doorways  of  the  Sillery  lodges.  The  two  captives  were 
placed  under  guard  until  the  governor  should  arrive 
from  Quebec.  The  happy  Father  Jesuit  bade  every- 
body feast  and  make  merry,  to  celebrate  the  double 
victory  of  Piskaret. 

The  governor  of  this  New  France  hastened  up  from 
Quebec,  hopeful  that  at  last  a  way  had  been  opened  to 
peace  with  the  dread  Iroquois. 

Clad  in  his  brilliant  uniform  of  scarlet  and-  lace,  he 
sat  in  council  at  the  mission  house,  to  receive  Piskaret 
and  the  captives.    With  him  sat  the  Father  Jesuit,  the 

29 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

head  of  the  mission,  and  around  them  were  grouped  the 
Christian  Algonkins. 

The  two  Mohawks  were  brought  in,  and  by  a  long 
speech  Piskaret  surrendered  them  to  the  governor. 
Governor  Montmagny  replied,  praising  him  for  his 
good  heart  and  gallant  deed — and  of  course  rewarding 
him  with  presents,  also. 

The  two  Mohawks  thought  that  their  torture  was 
only  being  postponed  a  little,  until  the  French  were  on 
hand  to  take  part  in  it.  To  their  minds,  the  council 
was  held  for  the  purpose  of  deciding  upon  the  form  of 
torture.    They  had  resolved  to  die  bravely. 

But  to  their  great  astonishment,  the  governor  told 
them  that  their  lives  were  spared  and  that  they  were 
to  be  well  treated. 

Rarely  before,  in  all  the  years  of  war  between  the 
Iroquois  and  other  nations,  had  such  a  thing  occurred. 
To  be  sure,  now  and  then  a  captive  had  been  held  alive, 
but  only  after  he  was  so  much  battered  that  he  was  not 
worth  finishing,  or  else  had  been  well  punished  and  was 
saved  out,  as  a  reward  for  his  bravery. 

So  the  big  man,  of  the  two  captives,  rose  to  make  a 
speech  in  reply  to  the  offer  by  the  governor.  He  ad- 
dressed him  as  '^Onontio,'^  or,  in  the  Mohawk  tongue, 
** Great  Mountain,''  which  was  the  translation  of  the 
name  Montmagny. 

**Onontio,"  he  said,  *^I  am  saved  from  the  fire;  my 
body  is  delivered  from  death.  Onontio,  you  have  given 
me  my  life.  I  thank  you  for  it.  I  will  never  forget  it. 
All  my  country  will  be  grateful  to  you.  The  earth  will 
be  bright;  the  river  calm  and  smooth;  there  will  be 

30 


THE  ADIRONDACK  CHAMPION 

peace  and  friendship  between  us.  The  shadow  is  be- 
fore my  eyes  no  longer.  The  spirits  of  my  ancestors 
slain  by  the  Algonkins  have  disappeared.  Onontio, 
you  are  good:  we  are  bad.  But  our  anger  is  gone;  I 
have  no  heart  except  for  peace  and  rejoicing." 

He  danced,  holding  up  his  hands  to  the  ceiling  of  the 
council  chamber,  as  if  to  the  skj^  He  seized  a  hatchet, 
and  flourished  it — but  he  suddenly  flung  the  hatchet 
into  the  wood  fire. 

**Thus  I  throw  down  my  anger!  Thus  I  cast  away 
the  weapons  of  blood!  Farewell,  war!  Now  I  am 
your  friend  forever ! ' ' 

Naturally,  Piskaret  might  feel  much  satisfied  with 
himself,  that  he  had  followed  the  teachings  of  the 
priests  and  had  spared  the  enemies  who  had  fallen  into 
his  hands. 

The  two  captives  were  permitted  to  move  about 
freely.  After  a  while  they  were  sent  up-river  to  the 
trading-post  and  fort  of  Three  Rivers,  where  there  was 
another  Iroquois.  Having  suffered  cruel  torture  he 
had  been  purchased  by  the  French  commander  of  the 
post. 

This  Iroquois,  after  seeing  and  talking  with  the  two, 
was  given  presents,  and  started  home,  to  carry  peace 
talk  from  Onontio  to  the  Five  Nations.  The  great 
Onontio  stood  ready  to  return  the  two  other  prisoners, 
also,  unharmed,  if  the  Iroquois  would  agree  to  peace. 

In  about  six  weeks  the  Iroquois  peace  messenger 
came  into  Three  Rivers  with  two  Mohawk  chiefs  to 
represent  the  Mohawk  nation. 

Now  there  was  much  ceremony,  of  speeches  and 

31 


BOYS'     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

feasts,  not  only  by  the  French  of  the  post,  but  also  by 
the  Algonkins  and  the  Hurons.  The  governor  came  up. 
In  a  grand  peace  council  Chie^  Kiosaton,  .  head  am- 
bassador, made  a  long  address.  After  each  promise  of 
good-will  he  passed  out  a  broad  belt  of  wampum,  until 
the  line  upon  which  the  belts  were  hung  was  sagging 
with  more  than  fifteen. 

By  these  beaded  belts  the  promises  were  sealed. 

Piskaret  was  here.  It  was  necessary  for  him  to  give 
a  present  that  should  **wipe  out  the  memory  of  the 
Iroquois  blood  he  had  shed,''  and  this  he  did. 

With  high-sounding  words  the  Mohawks  left  by  sail- 
boat for  the  mouth  of  the  Richelieu,  to  continue  on 
south  to  their  own  country.  Another  council  had  been 
set,  for  the  fall.  Then  the  more  distant  tribes  of  the 
Algonkins  and  the  Hurons  should  meet  the  Iroquois, 
here  at  Three  Rivers,  and  seal  a  general  peace. 

At  that  greater  council  many  belts  of  wampum  were 
passed — to  clear  the  sky  of  clouds,  to  smooth  the  rivers 
and  lakes  and  trails,  to  break  the  hatchets  and  guns 
and  shields,  and  the  kettles  in  which  prisoners  were 
boiled;  to  wash  faces  clean  of  war-paint  and  to  wipe 
out  the  memory  of  w^arriors  slain. 

There  were  dances  and  feasts ;  and  in  all  good  humor 
the  throng  broke  up. 

Peace  seemed  to  have  come  to  the  forests.  The 
Piskaret  party  might  well  consider  that  they  had 
opened  the  way.  The  happy  priests  gave  thanks  to 
Heaven  that  their  prayers  had  been  answered,  and  that 
the  hearts  of  the  Iroquois,  the  Algonkins  and  the 
Hurons  were  soft  to  the  teachings  of  Christianity. 

32 


THE  ADIRONDACK  CHAMPION 

Now,  would  the  peace  last? 

Yes — for  twelve  months,  with  the  Mohawks  alone. 
After  which,  "^ying  that  the  Black  Eobe  priests  had 
sent  them  a  tamine  plague  in  a  box,  the  Mohawks  seized 
new  and  sharper  hatchets,  again  sped  upon  the  war- 
trail  to  the  St.  Lawrence ;  and  smote  so  terribly  that  at 
last  they  killed,  in  the  forest,  even  Piskaret  himself, 
while  singing  a  peace-song  he  started  to  greet  them. 

The  Algonkin  peoples  and  the  Hurons  were  driven 
like  straw  in  the  wind.  Many  fled  west  and  south,  into 
the  Great  Lakes  country,  and  beyond. 


33 


CHAPTER  III 

OPECHANCANOUGH,  SACHEM  OF  THE  PAMUNKEYS 
(1607-1644) 

WHO  FOUGHT  AT   THE  AGE   OF   ONE   HUNDRED 

THE  first  English-speaking  settlement  that  held 
fast  in  the  United  States  was  Jamestown,  inland 
a  short  distance  from  the  Chesapeake  Bay  coast  of  Vir- 
ginia, in  the  country  of  the  Great  King  Powatan. 

The  Powatans,  of  at  least  thirty  tribes,  in  this  1607 
owned  eight  thousand  square  miles  and  mustered  al- 
most three  thousand  warriors.  They  lived  in  a  land 
rich  with  good  soil,  game  and  fish;  the  men  were  well 
formed,  the  women  were  comely,  the  children  many. 

But  before  the  new  settlers  met  King  Powatan — 
whose  title  was  sachem  (chief)  and  whose  real  name 
was  Wa-hun-so-na-cook — they  met  his  brother  0-pe- 
chan-can-ough,  sachem  of  the  Pamunkey  tribe  of  the 
Powatan  league. 

A  large,  masterful  man  was  Opechancanough,  sachem 
of  the  Pamunkeys.  The  Indians  themselves  said  that 
he  was  not  a  Powatan,  nor  any  relation  of  their  king ; 
but  that  he  came  from  the  princely  line  of  a  great 
Southern  nation,  distant  many  leagues.  This  may  be 
the  reason  that,  although  he  was  allied  to  Chief 
Powatan,  he  never  joined  him  in  friendship  to  the 
whites,  who,  he  claimed,  if  not  checked  would  over-run 
:the  Indians'  hunting-grounds. 

34 


SACHEM  OF  THE  PAMUNKEYS 

The  Indians  of  Virginia  did  not  wish  to  have  the 
white  men  among  them.  They  were  living  well  and 
comfortably,  before  the  white  men  came;  after  the 
white  men  came,  with  terrible  weapons  and  huge  appe- 
tites which  they  expected  the  Indians  to  fill,  and  a 
habit  of  claiming  all  creation,  clouds  veiled  the  sky  of 
the  Powatans,  their  corn-fields  and  their  streams  were 
no  longer  their  own. 

Powatan,  the  head  sachem,  collected  guns  and 
hatchets  and  planned  to  stem  the  tide  while  it  was 
small.  But  these  English  enticed  his  daughter  Poca- 
hontas aboard  a  vessel,  and  there  held  her  for  the  good 
behavior  of  her  father. 

Pocahontas  married  John  Eolfe,  an  English  gentle- 
man of  the  colony.  Now  for  the  first  time  Powatan 
was  won,  for  he  loved  his  daughter  and  the  honest  treat- 
ment of  her  at  English  hands  pleased  him. 

Opechancanough  but  bided  his  time,  until  1622.  He 
was  a  thorough  hater;  his  weapons  were  treachery  as 
well  as  open  war ;  he  had  resolved  never  to  give  up  his 
country  to  the  stranger. 

Meanwhile,  Pocahontas  had  died,  in  1617,  aged  about 
twenty-two,  just  when  leaving  England  for  a  visit  home. 

Full  of  years  and  honors  (for  he  had  been  a  shrewd, 
noble-minded  king)  the  sachem  Powatan  himself  died 
in  1618,  aged  over  three  score  and  ten.  His  elder 
brother  0-pi-tchi-pan  became  head  sachem  of  the 
Powatan  league.  He  was  not  of  high  character  like 
the  great  chief's.  Now  Opechancanough  soon  sprang 
to  the  front,  as  champion  of  the  nation. 

Pocahontas  was  no  longer  a  hostage,  the  English  set- 

35 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

tlements  and  plantations  had  increased,  the  English  in 
England  were  in  numbers  of  the  stars,  and  the  leaves, 
and  the  sands ;  and  something  must  be  done  at  once. 

Seventy-eight  years  of  age  he  was,  when  he  struck 
his  blow.  With  the  fierce  Chick-a-hom-i-nies  backing 
him,  he  had  enlisted  tribe  after  tribe  among  the 
Powatans.  Yet  never  a  word  of  the  plan  reached  the 
colonists. 

For  several  years  peace  had  reigned  in  fair  Virginia. 
The  Indians  were  looked  upon  as  only  '^a  naked,  timid 
people,  who  durst  not  stand  the  presenting  of  a  staff 
in  the  manner  of  a  firelock,  in  the  hands  of  a  woman 'M 
** Firelocks''  and  modern  arms  they  did  lack,  them- 
selves, but  Opechancanough,  the  old  hater,  had  laid  his 
plans  to  cover  that. 

March  22,  1622,  was  the  date  for  the  attack,  which, 
should  **  utterly  extinguish  the  English  settlements  for- 
ever. ' '  Yet '  *  forever ' '  could  not  have  been  the  hope  of 
Opechancanough.  Here  in  Virginia  the  white  man's 
settlements  had  spread  through  five  hundred  miles,  and 
on  the  north  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  had  started  another 
batch  in  the  country  of  the  Pokanokets. 

The  plan  of  Opechancanough  succeeded  perfectly. 
Keeping  the  date  secret,  tribe  after  tribe  sent  their 
warriors,  to  arrive  at  the  borders  of  the  Virginia  set- 
tlements in  the  night  of  March  21. 

**  Although  some  of  the  detachments  had  to  march 
from  great  distances,  and  through  a  continued  forest, 
guided  only  by  the  stars  and  moon,  no  single  instance 
of  disorder  or  mistake  is  known  to  have  happened. 
One  by  one  they  followed  each  other  in  profound 

36 


SACHEM  OF  THE  PAMUNKEYS 

silence,  treading  as  nearly  as  possible  in  eacli  other  ^s 
steps,  and  adjusting  the  long  grass  and  branches  which 
they  displaced.  They  halted  at  short  distances  from 
the  settlements,  and  waited  in  death-like  stillness  for 
the  signal  of  attack." 

A  number  of  Indians  with  whom  the  settlers  were 
well  acquainted  had  been  doing  spy  work.  It  was  quite 
the  custom  for  Indians  to  eat  breakfast  in  settlers' 
homes,  and  to  sleep  before  the  settlers '  fire-places.  In 
this  manner  the  habits  of  every  family  upon  the  scat- 
tered plantations  were  known.  There  were  Indians 
in  the  fields  and  in  the  houses  and  yards,  pretending  to 
be  friendly,  but  preparing  to  strike. 

The  moment  agreed  upon  arrived.  Instantly  the 
peaceful  scene  changed.  Acting  all  together,  the  In- 
dians in  the  open  seized  hatchet,  ax,  club  and  gun, 
whatever  would  answer  the  purpose,  and  killed.  Some 
of  the  settlers  had  been  decoyed  into  the  timber ;  many 
fell  on  their  own  thresholds ;  and  the  majority  died  by 
their  own  weapons. 

The  bands  in  ambush  rushed  to  take  a  hand.  In  one 
hour  three  hundred  and  forty-seven  white  men,  women 
and  children  had  been  massacred.  It  was  a  black,  black 
deed,  but  so  Opechancanough  had  planned.  Treachery 
was  his  only  strength. 

This  spring  a  guerilla  warfare  was  waged  by  both 
sides.  Blood-hounds  were  trained  to  trail  the  Indians. 
Mastiffs  were  trained  to  pull  them  down.  But  the 
colonists  needed  crops;  without  planted  fields  they 
would  starve.  The  governor  proposed  a  peace,  that 
both  parties  might  plant  their  corn.    When  the  corn  in 

37 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

the  Indians'  fields  had  ripened,  and  was  being  gathered, 
the  settlers  made  their  treacherous  attack,  in  turn. 
They  killed  without  mercy,  destroyed  the  Indians '  sup- 
plies, and  believed  that  they  had  slain  Opechancanough. 

There  was  much  rejoicing,  but  Opechancanough  still 
lived,  in  good  health.  He  had  been  too  clever  for  the 
trap. 

Earely  seen,  himself,  by  the  settlers,  he  continued  to 
direct  the  movements  of  his  warriors.  He  refused  to 
enter  the  settlements.  Never  yet  had  he  visited  James- 
town. Governors  came  and  went,  but  Opechancanough 
remained,  unyielding. 

He  was  eighty-seven  when,  in  1630,  a  truce  was 
patched  up,  that  both  sides  might  rest  a  little.  So  far 
the  Indians  had  had  somewhat  the  best  of  the  fighting ; 
the  colonists  had  not  driven  them  to  a  safe  distance. 

The  white  men  were  growing  stronger,  the  red  men 
were  improving  not  at  all,  and  Opechancanough  knew 
that  the  truce  would  surely  be  broken.  He  stayed  aloof 
nine  years,  waiting,  while  the  colonists  grew  careless. 
At  last  they  quarreled  among  themselves. 

This  was  his  chance.  From  the  Chickahominies  and 
the  Pamunkeys  the  word  was  spread  to  the  other  tribes. 
The  second  of  his  plans  ripened.  Opechancanough 
had  so  aged  that  he  was  unable  to  walk.  He  set  the  day 
of  April  18,  1644,  as  the  time  for  the  general  attack. 
He  ordered  his  warriors  to  bear  him  upon  the  field  in  a 
litter,  at  the  head  of  -^ve  united  tribes. 

Again  the  vengeful  league  of  the  Powatans  burst 
upon  the  settlers  in  Virginia.  From  the  mouth  of  the 
James  Eiver  back  inland  over  a  space  of  six  hundred 

38 


SACHEM  OF  THE  PAMUNKEYS 

square  miles,  war  ravaged  for  two  days;  three  hun- 
dred and  more  settlers  were  killed,  two  hundred  were 
made  captives,  homes  and  supplies  were  burned  to 
ashes. 

It  looked  as  though  nothing  would  stand  before 
Opechancanough — indeed,  as  though  the  end  of  Vir- 
ginia had  come.  But  in  the  midst  of  the  pillage  the 
work  suddenly  was  stopped,  the  victorious  Indians  fled 
and  could  not  be  rallied.  They  were  frightened,  it  is 
said,  by  a  bad  sign  in  the  sky. 

Governor  Sir  William  Berkeley  called  out  every 
twentieth  man  and  boy  of  the  home-guard  militia,  and 
by  horse  and  foot  and  dog  pursued. 

Next  we  may  see  the  sachem  Opechancanough,  in  his 
one  hundredth  year,  borne  hither-thither  in  his  bough 
litter,  by  his  warriors,  directing  them  how  to  retreat, 
where  to  fight,  and  when  to  retreat  again.  He  suf- 
fered severely  from  hunger  and  storm  and  long 
marches,  until  the  bones  ridged  his  flabby  skin,  he  had 
lost  all  power  over  his  muscles,  and  his  eyelids  had  to 
be  lifted  with  the  fingers  before  he  could  gaze  beyond 
them. 

Governor  Berkeley  and  a  squadron  of  horsemen 
finally  ran  him  down  and  captured  him.  They  took 
him,  by  aid  of  his  litter-bearers,  to  Jamestown. 

He  was  a  curious  sight,  for  Jamestown.  By  orders 
of  the  governor  he  was  well  treated,  on  account  of  his 
great  age,  and  his  courageous  spirit.  The  governor 
planned  to  remove  him  to  England,  as  token  of  the 
healthfulness  of  the  Virginia  climate. 

But  all  this  made  little  difference  to  Opechancanough. 

39 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

He  had  warred,  and  had  lost ;  now  he  expected  to  be  tor- 
tured and  executed.  He  was  so  old  and  worn,  and  so 
stern  in  his  pride  of  chiefship,  that  he  did  not  care. 
He  had  been  a  sachem  before  the  English  arrived,  and 
he  was  a  sachem  still.  Nobody  heard  from  his  set  lips 
one  word  of  complaint,  or  fear,  or  pleading.  Instead, 
he  spoke  haughtily.  He  rarely  would  permit  his  lids 
to  be  lifted,  that  he  might  look  about  him. 

His  faithful  Indian  servants  waited  upon  him.  One 
day  a  soldier  of  the  guard  wickedly  shot  him  through 
the  back. 

The  wound  was  mortal,  but  the  old  chief  gave  not  a 
twinge;  his  seamed  face  remained  as  stern  and  firm 
as  if  of  stone.  He  had  resolved  that  his  enemies  should 
see  in  him  a  man. 

Only  when,  toward  the  end,  he  heard  a  murmur  and 
scuif  of  feet  around  him,  did  he  arouse.  He  asked  his 
nurses  to  lift  his  eyelids  for  him.  This  was  done.  He 
coldly  surveyed  the  people  who  had  crowded  into  the 
room  to  watch  him  die. 

He  managed  to  raise  himself  a  little. 

*  *  Send  in  to  me  the  governor, ' '  he  demanded  angrily. 

Governor  Berkeley  entered. 

**It  is  time,"  rebuked  old  Opechancanough.  *^For 
had  it  been  my  fortune  to  have  taken  Sir  William 
Berkeley  prisoner,  I  should  not  have  exposed  him  as  a 
show  to  my  people." 

Then  Opechancanough  died,  a  chief  and  an  enemy 
to  the  last. 


W 


CHAPTEE  IV 

KING  PHILIP  THE  WAMPANOAG  (1662-1676); 
THE   TEREOR   OF   NEW  ENGLAND 

WHILE  in  Virginia  the  white  colonists  were  hard 
put  to  it  by  the  Powatans,  the  good  ship  May- 
-flower  had  landed  the  Puritan  Pilgrim  Fathers  on  the 
Massachusetts  Bay  shore  to  the  north,  among  the 
Pokanokets. 

The  Po-kan-o-kets  formed  another  league,  like  the 
league  of  the  Powatans.  There  were  nine  tribes,  hold- 
ing a  section  of  southeastern  Massachusetts  and  of 
water-broken  eastern  Ehode  Island. 

The  renowned  Massasoit  of  the  Wam-pa-no-ag  tribe 
was  the  grand  sachem.  In  Ehode  Island,  on  the  east 
shore  of  upper  Narragansett  Bay  was  the  royal  seat 
of  Montaup,  or  Mount  Hope,  at  the  village  Pokanoket. 

Great  was  the  sachem  Mas-sa-so-it,  who  ruled  mildly 
but  firmly,  and  was  to  his  people  a  father  as  well  as  a 
chief. 

Of  his  children,  two  sons  were  named  Wamsutta  and 
Metacomet.  They  were  renamed,  in  English,  Alex- 
ander and  Philip,  by  the  governor  of  this  colony  of 
Plymouth. 

Alexander  was  the  elder.  He  had  married  Wetamoo, 
who  was  the  young  squaw  sachem  of  the  neighboring 

41 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

village  of  Pocasset,  to  the  east.  Philip  married  her 
sister,  Woo-to-ne-kau-ske. 

When  late  in  1661  the  sage  Massasoit  died,  Alexander 
became  grand  sachem  of  the  Pokanoket  league. 

Now  the  long  reign  of  Massasoit  had  been  broken. 
With  him  out  of  the  way,  certain  hearts,  jealous  of  the 
Wampanoags  and  their  alliance  with  the  English,  be- 
gan to  stir  up  trouble  for  the  new  sachem.  They  re- 
ported him  as  planning  a  revolt  against  Plymouth 
Colony. 

There  may  have  been  some  truth  in  this.  The  Puri- 
tans were  a  stern,  strict  people,  who  kept  what  they 
had  seized,  and  who  constantly  added  more.  To  them 
the  Indians  were  heathens  and  inferiors;  not  free 
allies,  but  subjects  of  the  king  of  England. 

Before  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims  in  the  Indians' 
territory,  sailing  ships,  touching  at  the  New  England 
shore,  had  borne  Indians  away  into  slavery.  Since 
the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims,  the  Pequots  had  been 
crushed  in  battle,  and  Captain  Miles  Standish  had  ap- 
plied knife  and  rope  to  other  Indians. 

So  some  doubts  as  to  the  wisdom  of  Massasoit 's 
treaty  with  the  English  began  to  spread  through  the 
Pokanokets. 

The  Plymouth  officers  ordered  Alexander  to  appear 
at  court  and  answer  the  charges  against  him.  When 
he  delayed,  Major  Josiah  Winslow  was  sent  to  get 
him.  The  major  took  ten  armed  men,  and  proceeded 
for  Mount  Hope.  On  the  way  he  found  Alexander  and 
party  in  a  hunting  lodge,  their  guns  leaning  outside. 

The  major  seized  the  guns.    With  pistol  in  hand  he 

42 


King  Philip:;       ^^  ^ 
Courtesy  of  The  American  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 


KING  PHILIP  THE  WAMPANOAG 

demanded  that  Alexander  come  with  him,  or  die. 
Alexander  claimed  that  he  was  a  sachem  and  free  ruler, 
not  a  dog.  He  *  ^  fell  into  a  raging  passion. ' '  He  had 
a  proper  pride,  and  a  fierce  temper. 

He  agreed  to  go,  as  a  sachem  attended  by  his  own 
followers.  The  charge  against  him  never  was  pressed, 
because  his  rage  and  shame  at  the  insult  threw  him 
into  a  fever,  from  which  he  soon  died. 

He  had  reigned  only  a  few  months.  In  this  year 
1662  Philip  or  Metacomet  took  his  place  as  grand 
sachem  of  the  Pokanokets.  The  death  of  his  brother 
grieved  him.  Wetamoo,  the  young  widow,  said  that 
Alexander  had  been  poisoned  by  his  captors,  the  Eng- 
lish. The  story  counted,  and  the  fate  of  Alexander 
was  not  a  pleasant  story,  to  the  Pokanokets. 

Philip  saw  trouble  ahead.  His  neighbors  the  Narra- 
gansetts  had  long  been  at  outs  with  the  English.  In 
his  father's  reign  their  old  chief  Mi-an-to-no-mah  had 
been  handed  over  by  the  Puritans  of  Connecticut  to 
Chief  Uncas  of  the  Mohegans  for  execution  in  the  In- 
dian way.  The  Narragansetts  were  friendly  with  the 
Pokanokets;  they  rather  looked  upon  Philip  as  their 
adopted  leader. 

His  lands  were  rapidly  going,  the  English  w.ere 
rapidly  spreading,  the  Puritan  laws  and  religion  were 
being  forced  upon  him.  It  was  galling  that  he,  a  king 
by  his  own  right,  should  be  made  a  subject  of  another 
king  whom  he  had  never  seen. 

The  New  England  colonists  could  not  forget  how  the 
Virginia  colonists  had  been  surprised  and  killed  by  the 
Powatans.    They  watched  King  Philip   closely.    In 

43 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

1671  lie  was  said  to  be  complaining  that  certain  of  them 
were  trespassing  on  his  hunting  grounds.  This  led  to 
the  report  that  his  people  were  holding  councils,  and 
were  repairing  their  guns  and  sharpening  their 
hatchets,  as  if  for  war. 

So  King  Philip,  like  his  brother  King  Alexander, 
was  summoned  to  the  Puritan  court,  to  be  examined. 
He  had  not  forgotten  the  treatment  of  Alexander.  He 
went,  but  he  filled  half  the  town  meeting-house  with  his 
armed  warriors. 

There  he  denied  that  war  was  planned  against  the 
English.  He  was  persuaded  to  sign  a  paper  which 
admitted  his  guilt  and  bound  him  to  deliver  up  all  his 
guns. 

He  decided  not  to  do  this  latter  thing.  To  give  up 
his  guns  would  leave  him  bare  to  all  enemies. 

He  was  made  to  sign  other  papers,  until  little  by 
little  the  Pokanokets  seemed  to  have  surrendered  their 
rights,  except  their  guns.  The  white  people,  and  not 
Philip,  ruled  them. 

Then,  in  the  first  half  of  1675  the  affair  of  John 
Sassamon  occurred. 

John  Sassamon  was  an  educated  Indian  who  had  re- 
turned to  the  Wampanoags,  after  preaching.  He  spoke 
English,  and  was  used  by  King  Philip  at  Mount  Hope 
as  secretary.  He  thought  that  he  had  found  out  [war; 
plans,  and  he  carried  the  secrets  to  Plymouth. 

The  Indian  law  declared  that  he  should  die.  In 
March  his  body  was  discovered  under  the  ice  of  a  pond 
of  Plymouth  Colony.    His  neck  had  been  broken.  i 

To  the  Pokanoket  idea,  this  had  been  legal  execution; 

44 


KING  PHILIP  THE  WAMPANOAG 

ordered  by  the  sachem.  The  English  called  it  a  mur- 
der. They  arrested  three  of  King  Philip 's  men.  These 
were  tried  in  court  before  a  jury  of  twelve  colonists 
and  five  Indians.  They  were  found  guilty.  Two  were 
hanged,  the  third  was  shot. 

That  was  the  end  of  peace.  Miantonomah  of  the 
Narragansetts  had  been  handed  over  by  the  colonists 
to  the  law  of  the  Mohegans,  but  when  the  Pokanokets 
tried  a  similar  law  against  a  traitor,  they  had  been 
punished.  King  Philip  could  no  longer  hold  back  his 
young  men. 

He  had  been  working  hard,  in  secret,  to  enlist  all  the 
New  England  tribes  in  a  league  greater  than  the  league? 
of  Opechancanough,  and  by  one  stroke  clean  New  Eng- 
land of  the  white  colonists.  The  time  set  was  the  next 
year,  1676.  The  Narragansetts  had  promised  then  to 
have  ready  four  thousand  warriors. 

But  when  the  word  from  the  English  court  was  car- 
ried to  Pokanoket,  that  the  three  prisoners  were  to  be 
killed,  and  that  Philip  himself  was  likely  to  be  tried, 
the  warriors  of  the  ^ampanoags  broke  their  promise 
to  wait. 

They  danced  defiantly.  They  openly  sharpened  their 
knives  and  hatchets  upon  the  stone  window-sills  of 
settlers'  houses,  and  made  sport  of  the  English. 

A  sudden  cold  fear  spread  through  New  England. 
A  blood-red  cloud  seemed  to  be  hovering  over.  Signs 
were  seen  in  the  sky — a  great  Indian  bow,  a  great  In- 
dian scalp,  racing  horsemen;  a  battle  was  heard,  with 
boom  of  cannon  and  rattle  of  muskets  and  whistling  of 
bullets.    The  pious  Puritans  ordered  a  fast  day,  for 

45 


'BOYS^     OBOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

public  prayer,  in  the  hope  that  God  would  stay  the 
threatened  scourge. 

Upon  that  very  day,  June  24, 1675,  the  war  burst  into 
flame.  At  the  town  of  Swansea,  Massachusetts,  near 
the  Ehode  Island  border,  and  the  nearest  settlement  to 
Mount  Hope,  a  Wampanoag  was  wounded  by  an 
angered  colonist.  The  Indians  were  glad.  They  be- 
lieved that  the  party  whose  blood  was  shed  first  would 
be  victors.  The  colonists  returning  from  town  meet- 
ing were  fired  upon;  that  day  seven  were  killed  and 
several  wounded.  King  Philip's  young  men  had  acted 
.without  orders. 

When  King  Philip  heard,  he  wept.  He  was  not  yet 
ready  for  the  war,  but  now  he  had  to  fight.  He  had 
at  hand  sixty  "Wampanoag  men  of  fighting  age ;  all  the 
Pokanoket  league  numbered  six  hundred  warriors. 
Against  these  could  be  mustered  thousands  of  the 
colonists,  whose  ninety  towns  extended  through  Massa- 
chusetts, and  Connecticut,  and  into  present  Rhode  Is- 
land. Therefore  he  must  act  swiftly,  or  his  cause  was 
lost.  All  depended  upon  his  appeal  to  the  inland 
tribes  on  the  north. 

The  powerful  Narragansetts,  his  neighbors  on  the 
west,  were  not  prepared,  and  sent  no  warriors  at  once ; 
but  certain  of  the  other  tribes  did  respond  with  gun  and 
hatchet  and  fire. 

Before  the  colonists  could  rally  under  a  skillful 
leader,  the  forces  of  King  Philip  were  successful.  He 
had  plenty  of  guns  and  ammunition.  Town  after  town 
in  Plymouth  Colony  of  southeastern  Massachusetts  was 
laid  in  ashes  by  fierce  surprise  attacks,    The  scene 

46 


KING  PHILIP  THE  WAMPANOAG 

shifted  to  western  Massachusetts.  The  Nipmucks  of 
the  Connecticut  Eiver,  there,  aided  in  the  dreadful 
work. 

Throughout  the  summer  and  fall  of  1675  all  settled 
Massachusetts  rang  with  the  war-whoops  of  the  Po- 
kanokets  and  their  allies.  King  Philip  proved  himself 
a  master  in  Indian  warfare  to  strike,  and  run,  and 
strike  again.  In  this  one  brief  space  he  earned  his 
title,  the  Terror  of  New  England,  not  only  because 
of  his  first  successes,  but  also  because  during  the  span 
of  more  than  a  year  no  Englishman  recognized  his 
voice  in  battle,  and  only  once  was  his  face  seen  by  his 
enemies. 

Long  after  the  war  his  name  was  used  for  frighten- 
ing children. 

*  ^  King  Philip  is  coming ! ' '  And  the  naughtiest  child 
would  quiet  and  seek  his  mother's  skirt. 

Although  tortures  and  brutal  killings  were  com- 
mitted. King  Philip  himself  opposed  this.  Many 
stories  are  told  of  his  kindness  to  captives.  He  showed 
fully  as  much  mercy  as  the  colonists  did. 

Some  tribes  had  failed  to  help.  The  Mohegans 
under  Uncas  enlisted  with  the  English,  which  was  ex- 
pected. The  * 'praying  Indians,''  as  the  Christianized 
Pokanokets  were  known,  also  either  stayed  aloof,  or 
else  were  used  as  scouts  against  their  people.  The 
New  Hampshire  Indians  refused  to  take  up  the  hatchet, 
and  the  Narragansetts  still  hung  back. 

King  Philip's  own  home  of  Pokanoket  or  Mount 
Hope  had  of  course  early  been  seized  by  the  English 
troops.     They  had  planned  to  keep  him  from  escaping 

47 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

to  the  mainland  in  tlie  north.  But  he  easily  naoved  his 
men  out,  hy  way  of  the  narrow  neck  that  connected 
with  the  mainland. 

Now  he  was  a  roamer,  until  in  this  winter  of  167^ 
he  decided  to  stay  among  the  Narragansetts,  in  south- 
ern Rhode  Island,  and  renew  his  league. 

To  compel  the  Narragansetts  to  deliver  over  the 
King  Philip  people,  an  army  of  fifteen  hundred  was 
raised  by  Massachusetts,  Plymouth  and  Connecticut 
colonies. 

South  Ehode  Island  was  then  an  Indian  wilderness, 
heavily  timbered  and  deep  with  swamps.  Near  present 
South  Kingston,  in  the  Narragansett  country,  upon  a 
meadow  upland  amidst  a  dense  swamp  Philip  had  built 
a  fort  containing  five  hundred  wigwams.  He  had  built 
well. 

The  only  entrance  from  the  swamp  was  defended  by 
a  high  log  fence  or  series  of  palisades.  In  addition, 
around  a  space  of  five  acres  he  had  laid  a  thick  hedge 
of  felled  trees.  A  single  log  bridged  the  water  separat- 
ing the  fort  from  the  drier  land  beyond.  The  wigwams 
were  made  bullet-proof  by  great  stores  of  supplies  piled 
against  their  walls,  inside. 

It  was  reported  that  he  had  three  thousand  persons 
in  the  fort — these  being  his  Pokanokets,  and  many 
Narragansett  men,  women  and  children.  The  place 
was  called  Sunke-Squaw. 

Treachery  it  was  that  broke  the  power  of  King 
Philip.  An  Indian  named  Peter  sought  the  English 
and  offered  to  show  them  how  to  get  in.  After  a  long 
march  amidst  bitter  cold  and  driving  snow,  they  ar- 

48 


KING  PHILIP  THE  WAMPANOAG 

rived  at  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  December  19. 
They  were  short  of  provisions,  and  very  weary.  For  a 
time  matters  went  ill  with  them.  Again  and  again 
their  attacking  parties  were  swept  from  the  single  log 
that  Peter  the  traitor  had  showed  to  them.  A  number 
of  officers  and  men  had  fallen,  before,  pressing  hard, 
with  night  at  hand,  a  party  succeeded  in  entering  the 
fort. 

Here  the  hot  fight  passed  from  wigwam  to  wigwam. 
Some  of  the  English  were  killed  by  balls  from  their 
own  soldiers.    Through  all  the  swamp  the  battle  raged. 

**They  run,  they  runP'  sounded  the  loud  cries,  from 
the  English  within  the  fort.  Their  comrades  on  the 
outside  hastened — scrambling,  wading,  straddling  the 
log  or  Imee-deep  in  the  half  frozen  mire. 

Indian  women  and  children  and  warriors  had  taken 
refuge  in  the  wigwams.  Torches  were  applied,  burn- 
ing them  or  driving  them  out  to  be  shot  down.  Officers 
tried  to  prevent  the  burning  of  the  wigwams,  in  order 
to  save  the  provisions,  but  the  fire  spread. 

So  by  night  the  fort  was  in  ruins.  The  Indians  were 
killed,  captured  or  fleeing.  Seven  hundred  had  been 
killed  by  bullet  and  sword,  three  hundred  more  perished 
by  cold  and  hunger  and  wounds ;  how  many  old  men, 
women  and  children  had  burned  to  death,  no  one  knew. 
But  a  third  of  the  Narragansett  nation  had  been  slain 
or  taken  captive,  and  of  the  Pokanokets  only  a  remnant 
was  left. 

Eighty  killed,  was  the  report  of  the  Connecticut 
troops  alone.  There  were  one  hundred  and  fifty  men 
grievously  wounded.    As  the  soldiers  had  destroyed 

49 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

the  fort  and  its  provisions,  they  had  no  shelter. 
Through  a  furious  snowstorm  they  made  a  miserable 
night  march  of  eighteen  miles  before  even  the  wounded 
could  be  attended  to. 

King  Philip  was  now  a  fugitive,  but  he  was  by  no 
means  done  fighting.  He  removed  to  the  interior  of 
Massachusetts — it  is  said  that  he  traveled  clear  to  the 
Mohawks  of  New  York,  and  asked  their  aid  in  this  war 
against  the  English.    He  did  not  get  it. 

From  January  on  into  the  summer  of  1676  the  war- 
Avhoop,  the  gun-shot  and  the  torch  again  terrified  the 
colonies.  Aided  by  a  few  allies,  King  Philip  was  mak- 
ing his  last  great  effort.  He  carried  the  war  to  within 
twenty  miles  of  Boston.  Of  ninety  towns  in  New  Eng- 
land, thirteen  had  been  burned ;  six  hundred  buildings 
had  been  leveled  in  smoke,  and  six  hundred  arms-bear- 
ing colonists  killed. 

*^  These  were  the  most  distressing  days  that  New 
England  ever  beheld,"  reads  a  record.  **A11  was  fear 
and  consternation.  Few  there  were,  who  were  not  in 
mourning  for  some  near  kindred,  and  nothing  but 
horror  stared  them  in  the  face." 

Presently  Captain  Benjamin  Church,  as  noted  in 
New  England  as  Kit  Carson  is  in  the  West,  was  upon 
the  sachem's  trail.  He  was  a  skilled  Indian-fighter; 
he  knew  King  Philip's  haunts,  and  all  the  Indian  ways. 

There  was  no  let-up  by  Captain  Church.  Some  cap- 
tives he  turned  into  scouts,  so  that  they  helped  him 
against  their  former  chief ;  the  more  dangerous  he  shot 
or  hanged.  To  the  English  notion,  these  hostile  In- 
dians were  rebels  against  the  government  and  deserved 

50 


KING  PHILIP  THE  WAMPANOAG 


no  mercy.  Other  captives,  especially  women  and  chil- 
dren, were  sent  to  the  West  Indies  as  slaves. 

Soon  King  Philip 's  allies  began  to  desert  him.  They 
saw  no  hope  of  lasting  victory;  they  accused  King 
Philip  of  persuading  them  into  a  useless  war,  and 
either  scattered  or  went  over  to  the  English. 

Among  the  deserters  was  Queen  Awashonks,  squaw 
sachem  of  the  Sogkonate  tribe  of  the  Pokanoket  league. 
Her  country  lay  in  the  southeast  comer  of  Rhode  Is- 
land. When  Philip  had  heard  that  the  Sog-ko-nates 
were  helping  Captain  Church  to  trail  him  down,  he  is 
said  to  have  smiled  never  again. 

Chief  Canonchet,  great  leader  of  the  Narragansetts, 
was  captured  and  executed.  Thus  another  nail  was 
driven  into  King  Philip 's  fate. 

Of  Queen  Wetamoo's  three  hundred  warriors, 
twenty-six  remained;  they  were  betrayed  by  one  of 
their  own  number,  and  captured,  and  W^tamoo  was 
drowned  in  flight. 

These  deaths  saddened  Philip,  but  the  many  deser- 
tions blackened  his  horizon  and  he  knew  that  he  was 
doomed. 

By  midsummer  he  was  fleeing  from  spot  to  spot,  with 
Captain  Church  hard  after.  He  had  only  a  handful 
of  Pokanokets  and  scarcely  more  Narragansetts  with 
him.  Although  frequently  attacking,  he  himself  was 
never  sighted.  The  English  accused  him  of  hiding  in 
cowardly  fashion,  but  he  well  knew  that  with  his  death 
or  capture  the  war  would  be  ended.  Only  the  name 
King  Philip  supported  it  still. 

Toward  the  close  of  July  he  had  been  forced  south, 

51 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

to  his  own  Wampauoag*  country  of  Mount  Hope  and 
Pocasset.  In  a  sally  north  into  southern  Massachu- 
setts he  was  surprised,  on  Sunday,  July  30,  and  his 
uncle  killed  and  his  sister  taken  prisoner. 

The  next  morning  there  came  in  haste  from  Ply- 
mouth the  doughty  Captain  Church,  aided  by  Queen 
Awashonks's  men.  Where  a  tree  had  been  felled  for 
a  bridge  of  escape  across  the  Taunton  Eiver  thirty 
miles  south  of  Boston,  he  espied,  on  the  opposite  bank, 
an  Indian  sitting  alone  upon  a  stump. 

The  captain  aimed  and  would  have  fired,  but  his  In- 
dian companion  said:  *'No.  I  think  him  one  of  our 
own  men.''  The  Indian  upon  the  stump  slowly  turned 
his  head;  the  captain  saw  that  he  was  King  Philip 
with  his  hair  cut  short. 

At  the  fall  of  the  gun  hammer  King  Philip  leaped 
from  the  stump,  and  plunging  down  a  steep  bank,  was 
gone. 

Captain  Church  crossed  the  river  in  pursuit,  but  did 
not  catch  him. 

The  next  day  he  came  upon  the  beaten  sachem's  for- 
lorn camp.  There  he  captured  Philip's  wife,  Woo-to- 
ne-kau-ske,  and  their  little  boy  of  nine  years. 

The  end  of  Kiug  Philip  was  very  near.  His  rela- 
tives, even  his  sister-in-law,  Wetamoo,  had  died;  his 
friends  had  deserted  him;  his  remaiuiug  family  were 
in  the  hands  of  his  enemies. 

**You  now  have  made  Philip  ready  to  die,  for  you 
have  made  him  as  poor  and  miserable  as  he  used  to 
make  the  English,"  Captain  Church's  Indian  scouts 
praised.    **You  have  now  killed  or  taken  all  his  rela- 

52 


KING  PHILIP  THE  WAMPANOAG 

tions.     This  bout  has  almost  broken  his  heart,  and  you 
will  soon  have  his  head.'' 

The  head  of  King  Philip  was  indeed  the  prize.  His 
escape  north  was  barred  by  a  ** great  English  army''; 
his  flight  southward  into  Eh  ode  Island  was  limited  by 
the  sea.  His  ** kenneling  places"  (as  they  were  styled 
perhaps  because  of  the  dog's  life  that  he  was  leading) 
were  constantly  betrayed,  and  his  force  of  true-hearts 
was  melting  like  the  snows.  But  he  received  no  offer 
of  mercy.    None  was  sent,  and  he  asked  for  none. 

He  doubled  and  twisted  in  vain,  and  tried  an  am- 
bush. Captain  Church  easily  side-stepped  this;  and 
with  only  thirty  English  and  twenty  Indian  scouts,  in 
two  days  killed  or  captured  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
three  more  of  the  Philip  people.  Assuredly,  King 
Philip  was  growing  weak.  He  might  have  listened  to 
terms,  but  in  those  stern  days  terms  were  not  made 
with  rebels,  especially  with  troublesome  Indians  who 
were  assumed  to  be  children  of  Satan. 

Captain  Church,  urged  on  by  the  Plymouth  govern- 
ment, closed  in  farther.  Now  died  two  of  King 
Philip's  remaining  captains.  Sam  Barrow,  **as  noted 
a  rogue  as  any  among  the  enemy,"  was  captured,  and 
sentenced  at  once  to  death,  by  Captain  Church.  He 
was  an  old  man,  but  a  hatchet  was  sunk  into  his  head. 

Chief  Totoson,  with  his  eight-year  boy  and  old  wife, 
escaped  and  reached  Agawom,  his  former  home.  His 
little  son  fell  sick;  his  own  heart  ** became  a  stone 
within  him,  and  he  died."  His  old  wife  threw  some 
brush  and  leaves  over  his  body,  and  soon  she,  also, 
died.    Thus  was  the  Totoson  family  disposed  of. 

53 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

Only  old  Annawan,  Philip's  greatest  captain,  was 
left  with  him.  They  two,  and  their  miserable  band  of 
men,  women  and  children,  sought  last  refuge  at  the 
abandoned  Mount  Hope.  Here  they  were,  back  again, 
defeated,  with  nowhere  else  to  turn. 

On  the  morning  of  August  10  Captain  Church  was 
home,  also,  visiting  his  wife.  He  lived  on  the  island 
of  Ehode  Island,  in  Narragansctt  Bay  and  separated 
by  only  a  narrow  strait  from  Mount  Hope,  on  the 
north. 

There  he  had  word,  in  much  haste,  that  one  of  King 
Philip's  men  was  waiting,  to  guide  him  to  a  swamp 
where  the  sachem  might  be  killed. 

The  name  of  the  King  Philip  man  was  Alderman,  in 
English.  His  brother  had  proposed  to  King  Philip 
that  they  all  surrender,  and  King  Philip  had  struck  him 
dead.  So  revenge  burned  in  Alderman's  heart,  and 
he  turned  traitor.  He  was  of  the  Queen  Wetamoo 
people,  but  had  deserted  her,  also. 

Upon  getting  word  of  King  Philip's  whereabouts,  so 
near  at  hand.  Captain  Church  kissed  his  wife  goodby, 
and  gladly  mounted  his  horse  again — hoping,  he  said, 
**by  tomorrow  morning  to  have  the  rogue's  head." 

This  night  Alderman  guided  the  captain's  force 
truly.  They  had  not  far  to  go — only  a  dozen  or  so 
miles  up  the  Mount  Hope  peninsula,  to  the  narrow  neck. 
The  captain  was  well  acquainted  with  the  exact  spot :  a 
little  isle  of  dry  land  in  the  midst  of  the  swamp. 

On  the  morning  of  August  12  he  had  his  men  ar- 
ranged silently.  Captain  Golding  was  given  the 
*  'honor  of  beating  up  Philip 's  headquarters. ' '    With  a 

54 


KING  PHILIP  THE  WAMPANOAG 

picked  party,  crawling  on  their  bellies,  lie  entered,  to 
surprise  tlie  little  isle,  and  drive  out  the  game. 

Throughout  the  swamp  the  other  men  were  placed, 
two  (a  white  man  and  an  Indian)  by  two,  behind  trees, 
**that  none  might  pass  undiscovered.''  When  the 
enemy  should  be  started  in  flight,  then  all  the  attacking 
party  were  to  make  a  great  noise.  Every  figure  mov- 
ing without  noise  was  to  be  fired  upon  by  the  ambus- 
cade. 

There  were  not  quite  enough  men  to  complete  the 
circle  of  the  ambuscade.  However,  Captain  Church 
took  his  aide.  Major  Sanford,  by  the  hand,  and  said: 
*  *  Sir,  I  have  so  placed  the  men  that  it  is  scarce  pos- 
sible Philip  should  escape  them."  There  was  no 
thought  of  sparing  King  Philip's  life.  He  was  an 
outlaw. 

Just  as  the  captain  finished  his  hopeful  speech,  a 
gun-shot  echoed  through  the  misty  gray.  Captain 
Golding's  men  had  come  upon  one  Indian,  and  had 
fired,  and  then  had  poured  a  volley  into  the  sleeping 
camp. 

Again  from  the  harried  band  rose  the  cry  **Awan- 
nux!  Awannux!  (English!  English  I)"  and  into  the 
swamp  they  plunged. 

Caleb  Cook  and  Alderman  the  guide  had  been  sta- 
tioned together  behind  a  tree.  At  the  first  gun-shot, 
says  the  Captain  Church  story,  King  Philip  'Hhrew  his 
petunk  (shot  pouch)  and  powder-horn  over  his  head, 
catched  up  his  gun,  and  ran  as  fast  as  he  could  scamper, 
without  any  more  clothes  than  his  small-breeches  and 
stockings. ' ' 

55 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

And  Lere  lie  came,  directly  for  the  tree.  The  two 
behind  it  let  him  come '  *  fair  within  shot. ' '  Then  Caleb 
took  the  first  fire  upon  him.  But  the  gun  only  flashed 
in  the  pan.  He  bade  the  Indian  fire  away,  and  Alder- 
man did  so  true  to  purpose;  sent  one  musket  bullet 
through  King  Philip 's  heart,  and  another  not  above  two 
inches  from  it.  The  gun  had  been  loaded  with  two 
balls. 

King  Philip  '*fell  upon  his  face  in  the  mud  and  the 
water,  with  his  gun  under  him.''  He  was  dead,  at 
last,  on  the  soil  of  his  long-time  home  land  from  which 
he  had  sallied  to  do  battle  in  vain. 

''By  this  time,''  reads  the  Captain  Church  story, 
**the  enemy  perceived  that  they  were  waylaid  on  the 
east  side  of  the  swamp,  and  tacked  short  about.  One 
of  the  enemy,  who  seemed  to  be  a  great,  surly  old 
fellow,  hallooed  with  a  loud  voice,  and  often  called  out, 
'I-oo-tash,  I-oo-tash.'  Captain  Church  called  to  his 
Indian,  Peter,  and  asked  him  who  that  was  that  called 
so?  He  answered,  that  it  was  old  Annawan,  Philip's 
great  captain,  calling  on  his  soldiers  to  stand  to  it  and 
fight  stoutly.  Now  the  enemy  finding  that  place  of  the 
swamp  which  was  not  ambushed,  many  of  them  made 
their  escape  in  the  English  tracks. ' ' 

^When  the  pursuit  had  quit,  Captain  Church  let  his 
men  know  that  King  Philip  had  been  killed,  and  they 
gave  three  cheers. 

Then  the  captain  ordered  the  body  to  be  pulled  out  of 
the  mud.  So  some  of  the  Indians  ''took  hold  of  him 
jby  his  stockings,  and  some  by  his  small  breeches  (being 
otherwise  naked)  and  drew  him  through  the  mud  to  the 

56 


KING  PHILIP  THE  WAMPANOAG 

upland;  and  a  doleful,  great,  naked,  dirty  beast  he 
looked  like,''  according  to  their  opinion. 

**  Forasmuch  as  you  have  caused  many  an  English- 
man's body  to  be  unburied,  and  to  rot  above  ground, 
not  one  of  your  bones  shall  be  buried,"  pronounced 
Captain  Church.  And  he  ordered  an  old  Indian,  who 
acted  as  executioner,  to  behead  and  quarter  King 
Philip. 

But  before  he  struck  with  the  hatchet,  the  old  Indian 
also  made  a  little  speech,  to  the  body. 

**You  have  been  a  very  great  man,"  he  said,  **and 
have  made  many  a  man  afraid  of  you ;  but  so  big  as  you 
are,  I  will  now  chop  you  up. ' ' 

And  so  he  did. 

King  Philip  was  known  not  only  by  his  face,  but  by 
a  mangled  hand  in  which  a  pistol  had  burst.  His  head 
and  his  crippled  hand  were  awarded  to  Alderman,  who 
had  betrayed  him ;  Alderman  was  told  to  exhibit  them 
through  New  England,  if  he  wished,  as  a  traveling 
show.    He  gained  many  shillings  in  fees. 

The  four  quarters  of  King  Philip  were  hung  to  the 
branches  of  a  tree.  The  head  was  stuck  upon  a  gibbet 
at  Plymouth  for  twenty  years.  The  hand  was  kept  at 
Boston.  Caleb  Cook  traded  with  Alderman  for  King 
Philip's  gun;  and  King  Philip's  wife  and  little  boy 
were  sold  as  slaves  in  the  West  Indies. 

Now  the  Terror  of  New  England  had  been  subdued. 
He  had  been  leading  such  a  sorry  life,  of  late,  that  no 
doubt  he  was  glad  to  be  done,  and  to  have  fallen  in  his 
stride  and  not  in  chains.    His  age  is  not  stated. 

Thus  peace  came  to  the  colony  of  Plymouth  in  Massa- 

57 


BOYS>     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

chusetts,  and  King  Philip  liad  few  left  to  mourn  for 
liim,  until,  after  a  season,  even  some  of  the  English 
writers,  their  spirit  softened,  began  to  grant  that  he 
might  have  been  as  much  a  patriot  as  a  traitor. 

In  another  century,  the  colonists  themselves  rebelled 
against  a  government  which  they  did  not  like. 


58 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  SQUAW  SACHEM  01]  POCASSET,  (167&-1676)] 

AND   CANONCHET  OF  THE  BIG  HEART 

WHEISr  King  Pliilip  Had  planned  Ms  war,  He  well 
knew  tHat  He  migHt  depend  npon  JV^etamoo,  tHei 
squaw  sacHem  of  Pocasset. 

After  tHe  deatH  of  tHe  luckless  Alexander,  Wetamoo 
married  a  Pocasset  Indian  named  Petananuit.  He  was 
called  by  tHo  EnglisH  * 'Peter  ISTunnuit."  THis  Peter 
Nunnuit  appears  to  Have  Heen  a  poor  sort  of  a  Hus-? 
band,  for  He  early  deserted  to  tHe  enemy,  leaving  His 
wife  to  figHt  alone. 

Wetamoo  was  not  old.  SHe  was  in  tHei  prime  of  lif  e^ 
and  as  an  Indian  was  beautiful.  Not  counting  Hef 
faitHless  Husband,  only  one  of  Her  Pocassets  Had  aban-^ 
doned  Her.  He  was  tHat  same  Alderman  wHo  betrayed 
and  killed  King  PHilip. 

In  tHe  beginning  Queen  Wetamoo  Had  mustered  tHree 
Hundred  warriors.  SHe  stuck  close  to  King  PHilip, 
and  f ougHt  in  His  ranks.  SHe  probably  was  in  tHe  fatal 
Narragansett  fort  wHen  it  was  stormed  and  taken,  on 
December  19,  1675.  THe  EnglisH  mucH  desired  to 
seize  Her,  for  Her  lands  of  Pocasset  ** would  more  tHan 
pay  all  tHe  cHarge"  of  tHe  war.  SHe  was  considered  as 
being  **next  unto  PHilip  in  respect  to  tHe  miscHief  tHat 
Hath  been  done.'' 

59 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

But  she  was  not  taken  in  the  fort  among  the  Narra- 
gansetts.  She  fled  with  King  Philip  her  brother-in- 
law,  and  warred  that  winter  and  spring,  as  he  did, 
against  the  settlements  in  Massachusetts. 

Truly  a  warrior  queen  she  was,  and  so  she  remained 
to  the  last,  ever  loyal  to  the  losing  cause  of  her  grand 
sachem,  and  to  the  memory  of  Alexander. 

With  Philip  she  was  driven  southward,  back  toward 
her  home  of  Pocasset,  east  of  Mount  Plope.  By  the 
first  week  in  August  of  1676,  she  had  only  twenty-six 
men  left,  out  of  her  three  hundred. 

Then  there  came  to  the  colonists  at  Taunton,  which 
lay  up  the  river  Taunton  from  Pocasset,  another  de- 
serter, with  word  that  he  could  lead  them  to  the  little 
Wetamoo  camp,  not  far  southward. 

Twenty  armed  English  descended  upon  her,  August 
6,  and  easily  overcame  her  camp.  She  alone  escaped, 
in  flight.  She  had  no  thought  of  surrendering  herself 
into  slavery. 

In  making  her  way  to  Pocasset,  she  *' attempted, " 
reads  the  tale,  *'to  get  over  a  river  or  arm  of  the  sea 
near  by,  upon  a  raft,  or  some  pieces  of  broken  wood ; 
but  whether  tired  and  spent  with  swimming,  or  starved 
with  cold  and  hunger,  she  was  found  stark  naked  in 
Metapoiset  [near  present  Swansea  of  southern  Massa- 
chusetts, at  the  Ehode  Island  line],  not  far  from  the 
water  side,  which  made  some  think  she  was  first  half 
drowned;  and  so  ended  her  wretched  life." 

No  respect  was  paid  to  her.  Her  head  was  cut  off 
and  hoisted  upon  a  pole  in  the  town  of  Taunton,  as 
revenge  for  the  similar  beheading  of  some  English 

60 


THE  SQUAW  SACHEM  OF  POCASSET 

bodies,  earlier  in  the  war.  AVhen,  in  Taunton,  the 
Pocasset  captives  saw  the  head — **They  made  a  most 
horrid  and  diabolical  lamentation,  crying  out  that  it 
was  their  queen's  head.'' 

Here  let  us  close  the  melancholy  story  of  the  warrior 
queen  We  tamo  o,  who  as  the  companion-in-arms  of  her 
sachem  sought  to  avenge  her  husband's  death,  as  well 
as  to  save  her  country  from  the  foreigner.  However, 
"Wetamoo  and  Philip  together  dragged  the  once  mighty 
Narragansetts  down.  This  brings  to  the  surface  the- 
tale  of  Canonchet,  the  big-hearted. 

The  Narragansetts  were  a  large  and  warlike  people, 
and  hard  fighters.  Their  country  covered  nearly  all 
present  Ehode  Island;  the  city  of  Providence  was 
founded  in  their  midst,  when  the  great  preacher  Roger 
Williams  sought  refuge  among  them.  They  conquered 
other  tribes  to  the  north  and  west.  When  King  Philip 
rose  in  1675  they  numbered,  of  themselves,  five  thou- 
sand people,  and  could  put  into  the  field  two  thousand 
warriors. 

In  the  beginning,  under  their  noble  sachem  Can-on- 
i-cus,  they  were  friendly  to  the  English  colonists. 
While  Eoger  Williams  lived  among  them  they  stayed 
friendly.  They  agreed  to  a  peace  with  Sachem  Massa- 
isoit's  Pokanokets,  who  occupied  the  rest  of  Rhode  Is- 
land, east  across  Narragansett  Bay.  They  marched 
with  the  English  and  the  Mohegans  to  wipe  out  the 
hostile  Pequots. 

Canonicus  died,  and  Mi-an-to-no-mah,  his  nephew, 
who  had  helped  him  rule,  became  chief  sachem.  Mian- 
tonomah  was   famed  in  council   and  in  war.    The 

61 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

colonies  suspected  him,  as  they  did  Alexander,  son  of 
Massasoit.  They  favored  the  Mohegans  of  the  crafty 
sachem  Uncas.  [When  Miantonomah  had  been  taken 
prisoner  by  TJncas,  at  the  battle  of  Sachem's  Plain  in 
Connecticut,  1643,  the  United  Colonies  of  Connecticut, 
Massachusetts  and  Plymouth  directed  that  the  Mohe- 
gans put  him  to  death,  as  a  treaty  breaker. 

Accordingly  Uncas  ordered  him  killed  by  the  hatchet, 
and  ate  a  piece  of  his  shoulder. 

Possibly  Miantonomah  deserved  to  die,  but  the 
hearts  of  the  Narragansetts  grew  very  sore. 

It  is  scarcely  to  be  wondered  at  that  they  favored  the 
Pokanokets  rather  than  the  English,  when  King  Philijo, 
who  also  had  suffered,  called  upon  them  to  aid  in  clean- 
ing the  land  of  the  white  enemy.  ^'Brothers,  we  must 
be  as  one,  as  the  English  are,  or  we  shall  soon  all  be 
destroyed,''  had  said  Miantonomah,  in  a  speech  to  a 
distant  tribe ;  and  that  looked  to  be  so. 

Ca-non-chet,  whose  name  in  Indian  was  Qua-non-chet 
(pronounced  the  same),  and  Nan-un-te-noo,  was  son 
of  the  <Belebrated  Miantonomah.  He  was  now  chief 
sachem  of  the  Narragansetts,  and  the  friend  of  King 
Philip. 

He  was  a  tall,  strongly  built  man,  and  accused  by  the 
English  of  being  haughty  and  insolent.  Why  not  ?  lie 
was  of  proud  Narragansett  blood,  from  the  veins  of  a 
long  line  of  great  chiefs,  and  the  English  had  given  his 
father  into  the  eager  hands  of  the  enemy. 

Presently,  he  was  asked  to  sign  treaties  that  would 
make  him  false  to  the  memory  of  Miantonomah  and 
double-hearted  toward  the  hopeful  King  Philip. 

62 


THE  SQUAW  SACHEM  OF  POCASSET 

The  papers  engaged  the  Narragansetts  not  to  harbor 
any  of  King  Philip  ^s  people,  nor  to  help  them  in  any 
way  against  the  English,  nor  to  enter  a  war  without  the 
permission  of  the  English.  He  was  to  deliver  the 
Philip  and  Wetamoo  people,  when  they  came  to  him. 

Canonchet  was  not  that  kind  of  a  man.  He  had  no 
idea  of  betraying  people  who  may  have  fled  to  him  for 
shelter  from  a  common  enemy.  A  few  of  his  men 
feared.  It  was  suggested  to  him  that  he  yield  to  the 
colonies,  lest  the  Narragansetts  be  swallowed  up  by  the 
English.  He  replied  like  a  chief,  and  the  son  of  Mian- 
tonomah. 

'^Deliver  the  Indians  of  Philip?  Never!  Not  a 
^ainpanoag  will  I  ever  give  up  I  No !  Not  the  paring 
of  a  Wampanoag's  nail  I'* 

The  venerable  Eoger  Williams,  his  friend,  the  friend 
of  his  father  and  the  friend  of  the  long-dead  Canonicus, 
had  advised  him  to  stay  out  of  the  war. 

** Massachusetts,"  said  Eoger  Williams,  **can  raise 
thousands  of  men  at  this  moment ;  and  if  you  kill  them, 
the  king  of  England  will  supply  their  place  as  fast  as 
they  fall." 

**It  is  well,"  replied  Canonchet.  **Let  them  come. 
W^  are  ready  for  them.  But  as  for  you.  Brother  Wil- 
liams, you  are  a  good  man ;  you  have  been  kind  to  us 
many  years.  We  shall  burn  the  English  in  their 
houses,  but  not  a  hair  of  your  head  shall  be  touched." 

The  colonies  did  not  wait  for  Canonchet  to  surrender 
the  King  Philip  people.  The  treaty  had  been  signed 
on  October  28,  and  on  November  2  an  army  from  Con- 
necticut, Massachusetts  and  Plymouth  was  ordered 

63 


BOYS^     BOOR     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

out,  to  inarcli  against  the  Narragansetts,  and  seize 
King  Philip  and  Queen  "Wetamoo,  and  punish  Ca- 
nonchet. 

It  was  known  that  Queen  Wetamoo  was  with  Canon- 
chet,  but  not  certainly  that  King  Philip  had  *  *  kenneled' ' 
there.  At  any  rate,  down  marched  the  English,  their 
Mohegan  and  Pequot  allies,  all  piloted  by  one  Peter 
who  might  have  been  the  husband  of  Wetamoo  herself, 
but  who  probably  was  a  Narragansett  traitor. 

Canonchet  stood  firm.  To  his  notion,  he  was  not 
obliged  to  surrender  anybody,  while  the  English  held 
his  brother  and  three  other  Narragansetts.  Besides — 
''Deliver  the  Indians  of  Philip?  No !  Not  the  paring 
of  a  Wampanoag's  nail!" 

On  the  afternoon  of  December  19,  this  year  1675,  the 
bold  English  and  their  allies  struck  the  great  fortified 
yillage  at  Sunke-Squaw.  Out  from  the  heat  and 
jsmudge  of  the  blazing  wigvvams  fled  Philip  and  Weta- 
moo and  Canonchet,  with  their  shrieking  people,  into 
the  wintry  swamp  where  the  snowy  branches  of  the 
cedars  and  hemlocks  were  their  only  refuge.  Canon- 
!chet  had  lost  a  third  of  his  nation ;  large  numbers  sur- 
rendered to  the  English;  but,  like  his  friend  Philip, 
with  his  warriors  who  remained  true  he  carried  the 
war  to  the  English  themselves.  And  a  terrible  war 
it  was. 

In  March  Captain  William  Peirse  was  sent  out  with 
seventy  stout  men  to  march  from  Plymouth  and  head 
off  the  raging  Narragansetts.  Plymouth  had  heard 
that  the  haughty  young  sachem  Canonchet  was  on  his 
way  to  Plymouth,  at  the  van  of  three  hundred  warriors. 

64 


THE  SQUAW  SACHEM  OF  POCASSET. 

Captain  Peirse  made  Hs  will  and  marched  south- 
ward, to  the  Pawtucket  Eiver  not  far  above  Providence. 
Canonchet  's  spies  had  marked  him,  and  Canonchet  was 
ready.  .     j 

On  March  26,  which  was  a  Sunday,  Captain  Peirse 
saw  upon  the  other  side  of  the  river  a  party  of  Indians 
limping  as  if  worn  out  and  trying  to  get  away.  .There- 
fore he  crossed,  near  the  Pawtucket  Falls,  in  glad  pur- 
suit— and  **no  sooner  was  he  upon  the  western  side, 
than  the  warriors  of  Nanuntenoo,  like  an  avalanche 
from  a  mountain,  rushed  down  upon  him;  nor  striving 
for  coverts  from  which  to  "^ghty  more  than  their  foes, 
fought  them  face  to  face  with  the  most  determined 
bravery ! ' ' 

There  were  Narragansetts  still  upon  the  east  side  of 
the  river,  also,  to  cut  off  retreat.  The  captaia,  fighting 
desperately,  with  his  men  ranged  in  two  ranks  back 
to  back,  sent  a  runner  to  Providence,  only  six  or  eight 
miles,  for  assistance ;  but  so  quickly  was  the  work  done, 
by  Canonchet,  that  of  all  the  English  force,  only  one 
Englishman  escaped,  and  not  above  a  dozen  of  the 
scouts.  ¥ 

**  Captain  Peirse  was  slain,  and  forty  and  niae  Eng- 
lish with  him,  and  eight  (or  more)  Indians  who  did 
assist  the  English." 

Canonchet  lost  one  hundred  and  forty,  but  it  was  a. 
great  victory,  well  planned  and  well  executed.  Cap- 
tain Peirse  had  been  a  leader  ia  the  storming  of  the 
Narragansett  fort  at  Sunke-Squaw,  the  last  winter; 
that  is  one  reason  why  the  Canonchet  jmrriors  f  oughj^ 
so  ravenously,  to  take  revenge. 

m 


BOYS>     BOOK    OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

On  the  day  after  the  dreadful  battle,  from  Connecti- 
cut, southwest,  there  marched  a  larger  force  of  Eng- 
lish and  friendly  Indians,  to  close  the  red  trail  of  the 
Sachem  Canonchet.  He  was  feared  as  much  as  King 
Philip  was  feared. 

Canonchet  did  not  proceed  against  Plymouth.  With 
thirty  volunteers  he  had  set  out  south  for  the  Mount 
Hope  region  itself,  in  order  to  gather  seed  corn.  The 
abandoned  fields  of  the  English  along  the  Connecticut 
Eiver  waited.  They  ought  to  be  planted  to  Indian 
com. 

On  his  way  back  to  the  Connecticut  Eiver  with  his 
seed  corn,  near  the  close  of  the  first  week  in  April  he 
made  camp  almost  upon  the  very  battle  ground  above 
Providence,  where  yet  the  soil  was  stained  by  the 
blood  of  March  26. 

He  did  not  Imow  that  now  the  enemy  were  upon  his 
trail  indeed;  but  at  the  moment  a  company  of  fifty 
English  under  Captain  George  Denison  of  Southerton, 
Connecticut,  and  eighty  Indians — the  Mohegans  led 
by  Chief  Oneka,  son  of  Uncas,  the  Pequots  by  Cas-sa- 
fein-na-mon,  the  Mantics  (formerly  allies  of  the  Nar- 
ragansetts)  by  Cat-a-pa-zet — were  drawing  near. 

iThree  other  companies  were  in  the  neighborhood. 

This  day  Canonchet  was  lying  in  his  blanket,  telling 
Jo  a,  party  of  seven  warriors  the  story  of  the  battle- 
ground. The  other  warriors  were  scattered  through 
;the  forest.     Two  sentries  had  been  placed  upon  a  hill. 

Not  far  away  the  Captain  Denison  party  already  had 
killed  one  warrior,  and  had  seized  two  old  squaws. 
JThe  squaws  confessed  that  Nanuntenoo  was  yonder, 

66 


THE  SQUAW  SACHEM  OF  POCASSET 

the  Indian  scouts  picked  up  the  fresh  trail,  the  Denison 
men  hastened  at  best  speed. 

In  the  midst  of  his  story,  Canonchet  saw  his  two 
sentinels  dash  headlong  past  the  wigwam,  **as  if  they 
wanted  for  time  to  tell  what  they  had  seen."  At  once 
he  sent  a  third  man,  to  report  upon  what  was  the  mat- 
ter. This  third  man  likewise  suddenly  made  off  at 
full  pace,  without  a  word.  Then  two  more  he  sent; 
of  these,  one,  returning  breathless,  paused  long  enough 
to  say  that  **all  the  English  army  was  upon  himP' 

'^Whereupon,  having  no  time  to  consult,  and  but 
little  time  to  attempt  an  escape,  and  no  means  to  de- 
fend himself,  he  began  to  fly  with  all  speed.  Eunning 
with  great  swiftness  around  the  hill,  to  get  out  of  sight 
upon  the  opposite  side,  he  was  distinguished  by  his 
wary  pursuers,''  and  they  were  hot  after  him. 

In  fact,  running  hard  around  the  hill,  Canonchet  well- 
nigh  ran  into  the  Niantics  of  Chief  Catapazet,  who 
were  coming  down  right  over  the  hill.  He  swerved,  at 
the  view-halloo,  and  lengthened  his  stride.  Some  of 
the  English  had  joined  the  chase.  Canonchet  tore  like 
a  deer  for  the  river. 

They  had  not  recognized  him,  for  he  was  wearing  his 
blanket.  But  so  hotly  they  pressed  him,  that  he  needs 
must  cast  aside  his  blanket.  This  revealed  to  them 
his  fine  lace-embroidered  coat,  which  had  been  given  to 
him  as  a  bribe,  at  Boston  last  October.  Now  they 
knew  that  he  was  a  chief,  and  a  personage,  and  they 
yelled  louder,  and  ran  faster. 

Presently  Canonchet  stripped  off  his  lacy  coat,  and 
dropped  it.    And  soon  loosening  his  belt  of  wampum, 

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BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

he  dropped  that  also.  By  this  chief's  belt  they  knew 
that  he  was  the  great  Canonchet,  aud  faster  still  they 
ran. 

However,  he  was  out-footing  all  except  one  Indian. 
That  Indian  was  a  Peqnot  named  Monopoide — the  best 
runner  of  all,  and  better  than  Canonchet  himself. 

With  only  a  single  pursuer  to  be  feared,  Canonchet 
turned  sharply  and  leaped  into  the  river,  to  cross  by 
a  strange  trail.  As  he  splashed  through,  wading  and 
plunging,  seeing  escape  close  before  him  if  he  could 
gain  the  opposite  bank,  he  stumbled  upon  a  stone. 
Falling  forward  he  not  only  lost  valuable  time  but 
soused  his  gun. 

**At  that  accident,"  he  afterward  said,  **my  heart 
and  bowels  turned  within  me  so  that  I  became  like  a 
rotten  stick,  void  of  strength. ' ' 

Before  he  might  stand  straight  and  fix  his  useless 
gun,  with  a  whoop  of  triumph  the  lucky  Pequot,  Mono- 
poide, was  upon  him;  grabbed  him  by  his  shoulder 
within  thirty  rods  of  the  shore. 

The  Pequot  was  not  a  large  man,  nor  a  strong  war- 
rior. Canonchet  was  both,  and  might  yet  have  fought 
loose,  to  liberty.  But  he  had  made  up  his  mind  to  quit. 
He  offered  no  trouble ;  the  guns  of  the  pursuing  party 
were  covering  him  again,  and  he  obeyed  the  orders. 

He  did  not  break  his  silence  until  young  Roberi; 
Staunton,  first  of  the  English  to  reach  him,  asked  him 
questions.  This  was  contrary  to  Indian  usage.  Ca- 
nonchet looked  upon  him  disdainfully. 

**You  much  child.  ISTo  understand  matters  of  war. 
Let  your  brother  or  chief  come ;  him  I  will  answer.'^ 

6S 


THE  SQUAW  SACHEM  OF  POCASSET 

Eobert's  brother,  Jolm  Staunton,  was  captain  of  one 
of  the  Connecticut  companies  that  had  been  sent  out  to 
find  the  Narragansetts ;  but  Canonchet  was  now  turned 
over  to  Captain  Denison. 

He  was  offered  his  life  if  he  would  help  the  English. 
This  brought  from  him  a  glare  of  rebuke. 

lie  was  offered  his  life  if  he  would  send  orders  to  his 
people  to  make  peace.  *  ' 

**Say  no  more  about  that,''  he  replied.  ''I  will  not 
talk  of  peace.  I  do  not  care  to  talk  at  all.  I  was  born 
a  sachem.  If  sachems  come  to  speak  with  me,  I  will 
answer ;  but  none  present  being  such,  I  am  obliged,  in 
honor  to  myself,  to  hold  my  tongue."  , 

**If  you  do  not  accept  the  terms  offered  to  you,  yoii 
will  be  put  to  death."  i- 

**  Killing  me  will  not  end  the  war.  There  ax6  two 
thousand  men  who  will  revenge  me." 

**You  richly  deserve  death.  You  can  fexpect  no 
mercy.  You  have  said  that  you  would  bum  the  Eng- 
lish in  their  houses.  You  have  boasted  that  you  would 
not  deliver  up  a  single  iWampanoag,  nor  the  paring  of  ai 
Wampanoag's  nail." 

**I  desire  to  hear  no  more  about  it,"  replied  Canon- 
chet. *  *  Others  Vf ere  as  eager  in  the  war  as  myself,  and 
many  will  be  found  of  the  same  mind.  Have  not  the 
English  burned  my  people  in  their  houses?  Did  you 
ever  deliver  up  to  the  Narragansetts  any  of  the  Narra- 
gansetts'  enemies?  [Why  then  should  I  deliver  up  to 
them  the  Wampanoags?  I  would  rather  die  than  re- 
main prisoner.  You  have  one  of  equal  rank  here  with 
myself.    He  is  Oneka,  son  of  Uncas.    His  father  killed 

69 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

my  father.    Let  Oneka  kill  me.    He  is  a  sachem.'' 

**You  must  die.'* 

**I  like  it  well.  I  shall  die  before  my  heart  is  soft, 
or  I  have  said  anything  of  which  Canonchet  shall  be 
ashamed." 

Even  his  enemies  admired  him.  The  English  com- 
pared him  to  some  old  Koman* 

He  was  not  killed  here.  Forty-three  of  his  people, 
men  and  women,  had  been  taken  by  the  troops  and 
scouts ;  a  number  of  these  were  given  over  to  death  by 
the  scout  Indians.  But  Canonchet  was  borne  in  tri- 
umph to  Stonington,  Connecticut. 

In  order  to  reward  the  friendly  Indians,  the  Pequots 
were  permitted  to  shoot  him,  the  Mohegans  to  behead 
and  to  quarter  him,  the  Niantics  to  burn  him.  As  a  re- 
turn favor,  the  Indians  presented  the  head  of  Canon- 
chet, or  Nanuntenoo,  to  the  English  council  at  Hart- 
ford, Connecticut. 

In  the  above  fashion  perished,  without  a  plea,  **in 
the  prime  of  his  manhood,''  Canonchet  of  the  Big 
Heart,  last  Grand  Sachem  of  the  Narragan setts.  Pres- 
<ently  only  the  name  of  his  nation  remained. 


70 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  BLOODY  BELT  OF  PONTIAC  (1760-1763) 
WHEN"  IT  PASSED  AMONG  THE   RED   NATIONS 

SOON  after  the  Mohawks  broke  the  peace  with  the 
French  and  Algonkins  in  Canada,  and  in  1647 
killed  Piskaret  the  champion,  they  and  the  others  of 
the  Five  Nations  drove  the  Hurons  and  Algonkins  into 
flight. 

The  Ilurons,  styled  in  English  Wyandots,  fled  clear 
into  Michigan  and  spread  down  into  northern  Ohio. 

Of  the  Algonkins  there  were  three  nations  who  clung 
together  as  the  Council  of  the  Three  Mres.  These 
were  the  Ottawas,  the  Ojibwas  and  the  Potawatomis. 

The  Ottawas  were  known  as  the  "Trade  People'' 
and  the  *  *  Eaised  Hairs. ' '  They  had  claimed  the  River 
Ottawa,  in  which  was  the  AUumette  Island  upon  which 
Piskaret  and  the  Adirondacks  had  lived. 

The  0  jib  ways  were  known  as  the  "Puckered  Mocca- 
sin People,"  from  the  words  meaning  "to  roast  till 
puckered  up."  Their  tanned  moccasins  had  a  heavy 
puckered  seam.  The  name  Ojibwa,  rapidly  pro- 
nounced, became  in  English  "Chippeway."  As  Chip- 
peways  and  Chippewas  have  they  remained. 

The  Potawatomis,  whose  name  is  spelled  also  Potta- 
wattamis,  were  known  as  the  *  *  Nation  of  Fire. ' '    They 

71 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

had  lived  the  farthest  westward  of  all,  until  the  Sioux 
met  them  and  forced  them  back. 

The  Ottawas  were  recorded  by  the  early  French  as 
rude  and  barbarous.  The  Chippewas,  or  Ojibwas, 
were  recorded  as  skillful  hunters  and  brave  warriors. 
The  Potawatomis  were  recorded  as  the  most  friendly 
and  kind-hearted  among  the  northern  Indians. 

Of  these  people  many  still  exist,  in  Canada  and  the 
United  States. 

When  England,  aided  by  her  American  colonies, 
began  to  oppose  France  in  the  New  World  in  1755,  the 
Three  Fires  helped  the  French.  They  were  then  hold- 
ing part  of  present  Wisconsin  and  all  of  Michigan. 

Now  in  the  fall  of  1760  France  had  lost  Canada.  Slie 
was  about  to  surrender  to  England  all  her  forts  and 
trading  posts  of  the  Upper  Mississippi  basin,  from  the 
Great  Lakes  to  the  Ohio  River. 

In  November  Major  Robert  Rogers,  a  noted  Ameri- 
can Ranger,  of  New  Hampshire  birth,  with  two  hun- 
dred hardy  American  woodsmen  in  twelve  whale- 
boats,  and  with  a  herd  of  fat  cattle  following  the  shores, 
was  on  his  way  from  Montreal,  by  water,  to  carry  the 
English  tongue  and  the  British  flag  to  the  French  posts 
of  the  Great  Lakes. 

He  had  passed  several  posts,  and  was  swinging 
around  for  Detroit,  when  a  storm  of  sleet  and  rain  kept 
him  in  camp  amidst  the  thick  timber  where  today  stands 
the  city  of  Cleveland,  Ohio. 

Here  he  was  met  by  a  party  of  Indians  from  the 
west,  bearing  a  message. 

**you  must  go  no  farther,"  they  said.     '^Pontiac  is 

72 


PoNTiAC,  thp:  Rei)  Napoleon 


Prom  a  painting- 


THE  BLOODY  BELT  OF  PONTIAC 

coming.     He  is  the  king  and  lord  of  this  country  you 
are  in.    Wait  till  he  can  see  you  with  his  own.  eyes.'' 

That  same  day  in  the  afternoon  Chief  Pontiao  him- 
self appeared.  Major  Eogers  saw  a  dark,  medium 
tall  but  very  powerful  Indian,  aged  near  fifty  years, 
wearing  not  only  richly  embroidered  clothes  but  also 
*  *  an  air  of  majesty  and  princely  grandeur. '  ^ 

Pontiac  spoke  like  a  great  chief  and  ruler. 

*  *  I  have  come  to  find  out  what  you  are  doing  in  this 
place,  and  how  you  dare  to  pass  through  my  country 
without  my  permission.'* 

Major  Rogers  replied  smoothly. 

**I  have  no  design  against  you  or  your  people*  I 
am  here  by  orders  from  your  new  English  fathers,  to 
remove  the  French  from  your  country,  so  that  we  may 
trade  in  peace  together." 

And  he  gave  the  chief  a  pledge  of  wampum.  Pontiao 
returned  another  belt. 

*'I  shall  stand  in  the  path  you  are  walking,  till  morn- 
ing," was  all  that  he  would  say;  and  closed  the  matter 
for  the  night. 

During  the  storm  of  the  next  few  days  he  smoked  the 
pipe  of  peace  with  the  major,  and  promised  safe  pas- 
sage for  him,  to  Detroit. 

Thus  Major  Eogers  was  the  first  of  the  English 
Americans  to  be  face  to  face  with  one  of  the  master 
minds  of  the  Indian  Americans. 

This  Pontiac  was  head  chief  not  alone  of  the  Otta- 
was,  but  of  the  Chippewas  and  Potawatomis.  Rumor 
has  declared  that  he  was  born  a  dark  Catawba  of  that 
fierce  fighting  nation  in   South  Carolina,  who  fre- 

73 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

quently  journeyed  north  to  fall  upon  the  northern 
tribes.  But  his  father  probably  was  an  Ottawa,  his 
mother  an  Ojibwa. 

By  reason  of  his  strong  mind,  and  his  generalship 
in  peace  and  in  war,  he  was  accepted  as  a  leader 
throughout  all  the  Great  Lakes  country.  The  name 
and  fame  of  Pontiac  had  extended  far  into  the  south 
and  into  the  east.  It  is  said  that  he  commanded  the 
whole  Indian  force  at  the  bloody  Braddock's  Field 
south  of  Pittsburg,  when  on  July  9,  1755,  the  British 
regulars  of  General  Sir  William  Braddock,  aided  by 
the  colonial  militia  of  Major  George  Washington,  were 
crushed  and  scattered  by  the  French  and  Indians. 

Before  that  he  had  saved  the  French  garrison  of 
Detroit  from  an  attack  by  hostile  Foxes. 

Having  talked  with  Major  Rogers,  Pontiac  sent  run- 
ners to  notify  the  villages  that  the  English  had  his 
permission  to  march  through  the  country.  He  himself 
went  on  with  the  party.  He  astonished  the  major  by 
his  shrewd  questions — as  to  how  the  English  waged 
war,  how  their  clothing  was  made,  how  they  got  iron 
from  the  ground,  for  their  weapons. 

He  even  stated  that  he  was  willing  to  form  an  alliance 
with  the  king  of  England  and  to  call  him  uncle;  but 
that  he  must  be  allowed  to  reign  as  he  pleased  in  his 
own  country,  or  **he  would  shut  up  the  way  and  keep 
the  English  out." 

Puzzled  and  stung  by  the  news  that  their  fathers,  the 
French,  had  been  beaten  in  war,  a  great  number  of 
Ottawas,  Potawatomis,  Chippewas,  Sacs  and  Wyan- 
dots  gathered  at  old  Detroit,  to  witness  the  surrender. 

74 


THE  BLOODY  BELT  OF  PONTIAC 

They  could  not  understand  why  the  French  should 
march  out  and  lay  down  their  arms  to  such  a  small 
company  of  English.  Evidently  these  English  were 
gifted  with  powers  that  made  their  enemies  weak. 

For  a  brief  space  all  went  well,  while  the  Indians  of 
Pontiac's  country  watched,  to  see  what  kind  of  men 
these  English  should  prove  to  be. 

But  the  name  of  the  English  already  was  bad. 
These  Northern  tribes  well  knew  what  had  occurred  in 
Virginia  and  in  New  England.  The  Powatans,  the 
Pokanokets,  the  Narragansetts  and  other  peoples  had 
been  wiped  out,  their  lands  seized.  The  English  were 
bent  upon  being  masters,  not  allies. 

There  was  found  to  be  a  great  difference  in  the 
methods  of  the  French,  and  these  English. 

The  French  treated  chiefs  as  equals,  and  tribes  as 
brothers  and  children ;  lived  in  their  lodges,  ate  of  their 
food,  created  good  feeling  by  distributing  presents, 
interfered  little  with  ancient  customs,  traded  fairly, 
and  forebade  whiskey. 

The  English  despised  the  Indians,  lived  apart,  de- 
manded rather  than  asked,  were  stingy  in  trading,  and 
cheated  by  means  of  liquor. 

**When  the  Indians  visited  the  forts,  instead  of  be- 
ing treated  with  attention  and  politeness,  they  were 
received  gruffly,  subjected  to  indignities,  and  not  in- 
frequently helped  out  of  the  fort  with  the  butt  of  a  sen- 
try's musket  or  a  vigorous  kick  from  an  officer.'* 

Pontiac  and  his  people  soon  saw  this.  The  French- 
Canadian  traders  still  at  large  took  pains  to  whisper, 
in  cunning  fashion,  that  the  great  French  king  was  old 

75 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

and  had  been  asleep  while  the  English  were  arming; 
but  that  now  he  had  awakened,  and  his  young  men  were 
coming  to  rescue  his  red  children.  A  fleet  of  great 
canoes  was  on  its  way  up  the  St.  Lawrence  Kiver,  to 
capture  the  Lakes,  and  the  French  and  the  Indians 
would  again  live  together ! 

The  Three  Fires  and  their  allies  the  Sacs  and  the 
Wyandots  longed  for  the  pleasant  company  of  their 
French  brothers.  In  his  village  on  the  Canada  border 
just  across  the  river  from  Detroit,  Pontiac  watched 
these  **Red  Coats"  for  two  years  and  found,  as  he 
thought,  nothing  good  in  them  or  their  cheating  traders 
and  he  resolved  to  be  rid  of  them  all. 

"With  the  eye  of  a  chief  and  a  warrior  he  had  noted, 
also,  that  they  were  a  foolish  people.  As  if  despising 
the  power  of  the  Indian,  they  garrisoned  their  posts 
with  only  small  forces,  although  many  of  these  posts 
were  lonely  spots,  far  separated  by  leagues  of  water 
and  forest  from  any  outside  aid.  Messages  from  one 
to  another  could  be  easily  stopped. 

The  French  were  being  allowed  to  remain  and  to 
move  about  freely.  The  peace  treaty  between  the 
French  and  the  English  had  not  yet  been  signed.  No 
doubt  the  French  would  join  the  Indians  in  driving  the 
invaders  from  this  country  so  rich  in  com  and  fish  and 
game. 

Out  of  his  brooding  and  his  hate,  Pontiac  formed  his 
plan.  It  was  a  plan  like  the  plan  of  Opechancanough 
and  King  Philip,  but  on  a  larger  scale.  He  worked  at 
it  alone,  until  he  was  prepared  to  set  it  in  motion. 

Then,  late  in  the  year  1762,  he  sent  to  the  eastward 

76 


THE  BLOODY  BELT  OF  PONTIAC 

his  runners  bearing  to  the  Senecas  a  red-stained  toma- 
hawk and  a  Bloody  Belt. 

They  carried  the  message : 

**The  English  mean  to  make  slaves  of  us,  by  occu- 
pying so  many  posts  in  our  country.  Let  us  try  now, 
to  recover  our  liberty,  rather  than  wait  until  they  are 
stronger. ' ' 

From  the  Senecas  the  Bloody  Belt  was  passed  to  the 
Delawares  of  western  New  York  and  eastern  Pennsyl- 
vania ;  from  the  Delawares  to  the  Shawnees  of  western 
Pennsylvania  and  eastern  Ohio;  from  the  Shawnees 
it  was  passed  westward  to  the  Miamis,  and  the  Wyan- 
dots  of  Indiana. 

Several  thousands  of  miles  had  the  Bloody  Belt 
traveled,  when  in  March,  of  1763,  it  was  caught  and 
stopped  by  Ensign  Holmes,  the  young  commander  at 
old  Fort  Miami  near  the  present  city  of  Fort  Wayne, 
Indiana. 

He  sent  it  back  to  Detroit,  far  northward,  with  a 
note  of  warning  for  Major  Gladwyn  the  commander. 
He  believed  that  with  the  stoppage  of  the  belt  he  had 
checked  the  plan.  Major  Gladwyn,  in  turn,  reported 
to  his  superiors  that  this  *^was  a  trifling  matter  which 
would  blow  over. ' ' 

The  belt  may  have  been  stopped,  but  not  the  word  of 
Pontiac.  It  traveled  on,  until  from  Lake  Superior  of 
the  Canada  border  down  to  Kentucky  all  the  tribes  be- 
tween the  AUeghanies  and  the  Mississippi  River  were 
only  waiting  for  the  Day. 

Vague  rumors  brought  in  by  traders  and  friendly 
scouts  floated  hither-thither — rumors  of  mysterious  re- 

77 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

marks,  of  secret  councils,  of  a  collecting  of  arms  and 
powder,  and  a  sharpening  of  knives  and  hatchets,  even 
among  tribes  remote  from  the  posts. 

But  the  garrisons  were  not  reinforced.  The  sol- 
diers idled  and  joked,  the  Indians  came  and  went  as 
usual,  gates  were  not  closed  except  at  night. 

A  Delaware  prophet  was  reported  to  be  preaching 
death  to  the  Eed  Coats.  Unrest  seethed,  and  yet  could 
not  be  traced  to  any  source.  On  April  27,  unknown 
to  a  single  one  of  the  English  at  the  Great  Lakes,  a 
hundred  strange  chiefs  gathered  within  a  few  miles  of 
Detroit  itself,  to  confer  with  Pontiac. 

In  the  midst  of  the  forest  he  addressed  them.  Here, 
seated  in  a  large  circle,  were  Ottawas,  Ojibwas,  Sacs, 
Potawatomis,  Wyandots,  Senecas,  Miamis,  Shawnees, 
Foxes,  Delawares,  Menominis — all  intent  for  the  words 
of  Pontiac. 

His  speech  was  full  of  fire  and  eloquence.  He  was 
an  orator.  He  reminded  his  brothers  of  their  treat- 
ment by  the  English,  and  of  their  better  treatment  by 
the  French — their  friends  who  had  been  ousted.  He 
told  them  that  now  was  the  time  to  rise,  when  the  war 
canoes  of  their  French  father  were  on  the  way  to  re- 
people  the  land  with  happiness. 

A  prophet  had  been  born  among  the  Delawares,  said 
Pontiac.  The  Great  Spirit  had  appeared  to-  this 
prophet  in  a  dream,  and  had  demanded  why  the  In- 
dians suffered  the  white  strangers  to  live  in  this  land 
that  he  had  provided  with  everything  for  the  Indian 's 
use. 

Let  the  Indians  return  to  the  customs  of  their  an- 

78 


THE  BLOODY  BELT  OF  PONTIAC 

cestors — fling  away  the  blankets,  the  coats,  the  guns, 
the  fire-water,  and  use  again  the  skins,  the  bows,  and 
the  native  foods,  and  be  independent.  **As  for  these 
English,  these  dogs  dressed  in  red,  drive  them  from 
your  hunting  grounds;  drive  them!  And  then  when 
you  are  in  distress,  I  will  help  you." 

The  day  was  named  by  Pontiac.  It  should  date 
from  the  change  of  the  moon,  in  the  next  month  (or 
about  May  7).  At  that  time  should  begin  the  work, 
by  all  the  tribes,  of  seizing  every  English  fort  and 
trading  post  in  the  Great  Lakes  country  and  west  of 
the  Alleghany  Mountains.  The  tribes  nearest  to  each 
should  attend  to  the  matter — strike  when  they  heard 
that  he  had  struck  Detroit. 

The  date  and  the  plan  were  approved.  The  council 
broke  up.  As  silently  as  they  had  come,  the  chiefs 
went  home ;  some  by  water,  some  afoot,  and  no  white 
man  knew  of  the  meeting! 

Detroit  was  the  largest  and  most  important  of  the 
English  posts.  Pontiac  himself  would  seize  this  by 
aid  of  his  Ottawas,  some  Potawatomis  and  Wyandots. 
To  the  Chippewas  and  the  Sacs  was  given  over  the 
next  important  fur-trade  station,  that  of  Mich-il-i- 
mac-ki-nac,  north. 


79 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  BLOODY  BELT  OF  PONTIAC  (1763-1769)' 

HOW  AN   INDIAN   GIRL  SAVED   FORT  DETROIT 

OLD  Fort  Detroit  was  a  stockade  twenty  feet  lilgli, 
in  the  form  of  a  square  about  two-thirds  of  a 
mile  around.  It  enclosed  a  church  and  eighty  or  one 
hundred  houses,  mainly  of  French  settlers  with  a 
sprinkling  of  English  traders. 

In  the  block-houses  at  the  comers  and  protecting 
the  gates,  light  cannon  were  mounted.  The  garrison 
consisted  of  only  one  hundred  and  twenty  men  of  the 
Eightieth  Foot.  In  the  village  there  were  perhaps 
forty  other  men. 

On  both  sides  of  the  river  lay  the  fertile  farms  of 
the  French  settlers.  Back  of  the  farms  on  the  east  or 
Canadian  side,  and  about  five  miles  from  Detroit,  was 
the  teeming  village  of  Pontiac's  Ottawas.  Potawato- 
mis  and  Wyandots  also  lived  near.  At  Pontiac's  call 
there  waited  more  than  a  thousand  warriors. 

The  set  time  approached.  On  May  1  Pontiac  and 
forty  chiefs  and  warriors  entered  the  fort,  and  danced 
the  calumet,  a  peace  dance,  for  the  pleasure  of  the 
officers.  Pontiac  said  to  Major  Gladwyn  that  he  would 
return,  at  the  change  of  the  moon,  May  7,  or  in  one 
week,  to  hold  a  council  with  him,  and  **  brighten  the 
chain  of  peace  with  the  English." 

80 


THE  BLOODY  BELT  OF  PONTIAC 

The  major  agreed.  He  was  a  very  foolish  man,  for 
a  chief.  Having  returned  to  his  village,  Pontiac  called 
a  different  kind  of  a  council,  there — a  war  council  of 
one  hundred  chiefs.  They  were  to  have  their  people 
cut  off  the  ends  of  muskets  that  should  be  carried  con- 
cealed under  the  blankets.  Sixty  chiefs  and  warriors 
should  go  with  him  into  the  council  chamber  at  the 
fort;  the  others  should  linger  in  the  streets  of  the 
town  and  at  the  fort  gates. 

He  would  speak  to  the  major  with  a  belt,  white  on 
the  one  side,  green  on  the  other.  When  he  turned  the 
belt  and  presented  it  wrong  end  first,  let  every  warrior 
kill  an  English  soldier,  beginning  with  the  officers.  At 
the  sound  let  every  warrior  outside  the  council  use 
gun  and  hatchet. 

On  May  5  a  French  settler's  wife  crossed  the  river 
to  buy  maple-sugar  and  deer-meat  at  the  Ottawa  vil- 
lage. She  say/  the  warriors  busy  filing  at  their  gun- 
barrels — shortening  the  guns  to  scarce  a  yard  of  length. 
This  was  a  curious  thing  to  do.  When  she  went  back 
to  the  post  she  spoke  about  it. 

**That,"  said  the  blacksmith,  *^  explains  why  those 
fellows  have  been  borrowing  all  my  files  and  hack-saws. 
They  wouldn't  tell  me  what  for.  Something's  brew- 
ing." 

When  Major  Gladwyn  was  informed,  still  he  would 
not  believe.  But  the  fur-traders  at  the  post  insisted 
that  when  an  Indian  shortened  his  gun,  he  meant  mis- 
chief. The  opinion  of  fur-traders  carried  no  weight 
with  Major  Gladwyn,  the  British  officer. 

The  next  evening  Catharine,  a  pretty  Ojibwa  girl 

81 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

who  lived  with  the  Potawatomis,  came  to  see  him  in 
his  quarters.  She  was  his  favorite.  She  had  agreed 
to  make  him  a  pair  of  handsome  moccasins,  from  an 
elk  hide.  Now  she  brought  the  moccasins,  and  the  rest 
of  the  hide. 

Usually  she  had  been  much  pleased  to  look  upon  and 
talk  with  the  handsome  young  major  in  the  red  clothes. 
This  time  her  face  was  clouded,  she  hung  her  head,  and 
spoke  hardly  at  all.  Her  eager  girlishness  had  van- 
ished. The  major's  delight  with  the  moccasins  failed 
to  cheer  her  up. 

Trying  to  win  her  smiles,  he  told  her  the  moccasins 
were  so  beautiful  that  he  wished  to  give  them  to  a 
friend.  Would  she  take  the  elk-hide  away  with  her, 
and  make  another  pair  of  moccasins  for  himself? 

She  finally  left,  with  strangely  slow  step,  and  back- 
ward glances.  At  sunset,  when  the  gates  of  the  fort 
were  to  be  closed,  the  guard  found  her  still  inside.  As 
she  would  not  go,  the  sergeant  took  word  to  the  major. 

*'She  won't  talk  with  me,  sir,"  he  reported. 

''Send  her  in  and  I  will  talk  with  her,"  ordered  the 
major. 

Catharine  came,  downcast,  silent,  and  timid. 

''Why  have  you  not  gone  before  the  gates  are  shut, 
Catharine?" 

She  hesitated. 

"I  did  not  wish  to  take  away  the  skin  that  is  yours." 

"But  you  did  take  it  away,  as  far  as  the  gate." 

She  hesitated  more. 

"Yes,  that  is  so.  But  if  I  take  it  outside  I  can  never 
return  it." 

82 


THE  BLOODY  BELT  OF  PONTIAC 

^*Wliy  notr' 

**I  cannot  tell.    I  am  afraid. ' ' 

**You  can  talk  freely.  Nothing  that  yon  say  shall 
go  to  other  ears.  If  you  bring  me  news  of  value  you 
will  be  well  rewarded,  and  no  one  shall  know. ' ' 

Catharine  loved  the  major.  Presently  she  told  him 
of  the  mind  of  Pontiac,  and  the  deed  planned  for  to- 
morrow morning. 

A  cold  fear  clutched  the  heart  of  Major  Gladwyn. 
He  recalled  the  shortened  guns,  he  recalled  the  Bloody 
Belt,  he  recalled  the  date  made  with  him  for  a  big 
council  on  the  morrow.    At  last  he  rather  believed. 

So  he  sent  away  the  trembling  Catharine,  that  she 
might  go  to  her  village.  He  held  a  council  with  his 
officers. 

Here  they  were,  with  only  one  hundred  and  twenty 
soldiers,  and  less  than  three  weeks '  provisions,  cut  off 
by  one  thousand,  two  thousand,  three  thousand  merci- 
less Indian  warriors,  and  by  the  French  settlers  and 
traders  who  probably  would  be  glad  to  have  the  Eng- 
lish killed. 

*  ^  The  English  are  to  be  struck  down,  but  no  French- 
man is  to  be  harmed,"  had  said  Catharine. 

That  looked  bad  indeed. 

This  night  guards  were  doubled  along  the  parapets, 
and  in  the  block-houses.  The  major  himself  walked 
guard  most  of  the  night.  From  the  distant  villages  of 
the  Ottawas,  the  "Wyandots,  and  the  Potawatomis 
drifted  the  clamor  of  dances — an  ugly  sound,  full  of 
meaning,  now. 

Precisely  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  a  host  of 

83 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

bark  canoes  from  the  Ottawa  side  of  the  Detroit  River 
slanted  across  the  current,  and  made  landing.  Pontiac 
approached  at  the  head  of  a  long  file  of  thirty  chiefs 
and  as  many  warriors.  They  walked  with  measured, 
stately  tread.  Every  man  was  closely  wrapped  in  a 
gay  blanket. 

They  were  admitted  through  the  gate  of  the  fort,  but 
it  was  closed  against  the  mass  of  warriors,  women  and 
children  who  pressed  after. 

As  Pontiac,  with  his  escort,  stalked  for  the  council 
room,  his  quick  glances  saw  that  the  soldiers  were 
formed,  under  arms,  and  moving  from  spot  to  spot, 
and  that  a  double  rank  had  been  stationed  around  the 
headquarters. 

In  the  council  chamber  he  noted,  too,  that  each  officer 
wore  his  sword,  and  two  pistols ! 

**Why,''  asked  Pontiac,  of  Major  Gladwyn,  **do  I 
see  so  many  of  my  father's  young  men  standing  in  the 
street  with  their  guns  ? ' ' 

**It  is  best  that  my  young  men  be  exercised  as  sol- 
diers, or  they  will  grow  lazy  and  forget,''  answered 
the  major. 

Ha!  Pontiac  hnew.  Somehow  his  plans  had  been 
betrayed;  his  game  was  up,  unless  he  chose  an  open 
fight. 

His  chiefs  and  warriors  sat  uneasily.  They  all 
feared  death.  By  Indian  law  they  ought  to  be  killed 
for  having  intended  to  shed  blood  in  a  calumet 
council. 

Pontiac  started  his  talk.  He  acted  confused,  as 
though  he  was  not  certain  what  course  to  pursue. 

84 


THE  BLOODY  BELT  OF  PONTIAC 

Once  he  did  seem  about  to  offer  the  belt  wrong  end 
first,  as  the  signal — and  Major  Gladwyn,  still  sitting, 
slightly  raised  his  hand.  Instantly  from  outside  the 
door  sounded  the  clash  of  arms  and  the  quick  roll  of 
a  drum,  to  show  that  the  garrison  was  on  the  alert. 
The  officers  half  drew  their  swords. 

Pontiac  flushed  yet  darker.  He  stammered,  and  of- 
fering the  belt  right  end  first,  closed  his  talk,  and  sat 
down  again. 

Major  Gladwyn  made  a  short  reply.  He  said  that 
the  English  were  glad  to  be  friends,  as  long  as  their 
red  brothers  deserved  it ;  but  any  act  of  war  would  be 
severely  punished. 

That  was  all.  The  major  let  the  Indians  file  out 
again.    Pontiac  knew. 

He  was  too  great  a  leader,  in  the  Indian  way,  to  be 
balked  by  one  defeat.  He  actually  proposed  another 
council;  he  actually  persuaded  the  foolish  major  to 
send  out  to  him  two  officers,  for  a  peace  talk.  One  of 
the  officers  barely  escaped  from  captivity,  the  other 
never  came  back. 

Then  Pontiac  boldly  besieged  Detroit,  in  white  race 
fashion — the  closest,  longest  siege  ever  laid  by  Indians 
against  any  fort  on  American  soil. 

His  two  thousand  Indians  swarmed  in  the  forest, 
held  the  fences  and  walls  and  buildings  of  the  fields, 
peppered  the  palisade  with  bullets  and  arrows,  shot 
fire  into  the  town ;  captured  a  supply  fleet  in  the  river, 
ambushed  sallying  parties,  cut  to  pieces  a  column  of 
reinforcements. 

The  siege  lasted  six  months.    The  orders  to  attack 

85 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

went  out.  On  May  16  Fort  Sandusky,  at  Lake  Erie 
in  northern  Ohio,  was  seized  by  the  Wyandots  and  Ot- 
tawas,  during  a  council. 

On  May  25,  Fort  St.  Joseph  of  St.  Joseph,  Michi- 
gan, on  Lake  Michigan  across  the  state  from  Detroit, 
was  seized  in  like  manner  by  the  Potawatomis.  On 
May  27,  Fort  Miami,  near  present  Fort  Wayne  of 
Indiana,  commanded  by  Ensign  Holmes  who  had  dis- 
covered the  Bloody  Belt,  was  forced  to  surrender  to 
the  Wyandots.  Ensign  Holmes  himself  was  decoyed 
into  the  open,  and  killed. 

On  June  4,  populous  Michilimackinac  of  northern 
Michigan  was  pillaged.  The  Chippewas  and  Sacs  cele- 
brated the  King's  Birthday,  in  honor  of  the  English, 
with  a  great  game  of  lacrosse  in  front  of  the  post. 
Michilimackinac  did  not  know  that  Detroit  was  being 
besieged!  The  gates  were  left  open,  the  officers  gath- 
ered to  witness  the  game.  The  ball  was  knocked  inside 
the  palisades,  the  players  rushed  after — and  that  was 
the  end  of  Michilimackinac. 

On  June  15  the  little  fort  of  Presq'  Isle,  near  the 
modern  city  of  Erie  on  the  Lake  Erie  shore  of  north- 
ern Pennsylvania,  was  attacked.  It  was  captured  in 
two  days,  by  the  Ottawas  and  Potawatomis  from  De- 
troit. 

On  June  18,  Fort  Le  Boeuf,  twelve  miles  south  of  it, 
was  burned.  Just  when  Fort  Venango,  farther  south, 
fell  to  the  Senecas,  no  word  says,  for  not  a  man  of  it 
remained  alive.  June  1,  Fort  Ouatanon,  below  Lafa- 
yette on  the  Wabash  Eiver  in  west  central  Indiana, 
had  surrendered. 

86 


THE  BLOODY  BELT  OF  PONTIAC 

Niagara  in  the  east  was  threatened;  Fort  Legonier, 
forty  miles  southeast  of  Pittsburg  in  Pennsylvania, 
was  attacked  by  the  Delawares  and  Shawnees,  but  held 
out;  the  strong  Fort  Pitt  (now  Pittsburg),  with  garri- 
son of  over  three  hundred  soldiers  and  woodsmen,  was 
besieged  by  the  united  Delawares,  Shawnees,  Wyan- 
dots  and  Mingo  Iroquois. 

A  second  Bloody  Belt  had  been  dispatched  by  Pon- 
tiac  from  Detroit;  as  fast  as  it  arrived,  the  allies 
struck  hard.  Of  twelve  fortified  English  posts,  eight 
fell.  Not  only  that,  but  the  fiery  spirit  of  Pontiac 
had  aroused  twenty-two  tribes  extending  from  Canada 
to  Virginia,  and  from  New  York  to  the  Illinois.  A 
hundred  English  traders  were  murdered  in  camp,  and 
on  the  trail.  A  thousand  English  are  supposed  to  have 
been  killed.  Five  hundred  families  of  northern  Vir- 
ginia and  of  western  Maryland  fled  for  their  lives. 

While  this  work  was  going  on,  and  the  frontier  set- 
tlements shuddered,  and  feared  the  morrow,  Pontiac 
was  sternly  sticking  to  his  siege  of  Fort  Detroit. 

The  French  around  there  complained  to  him  that 
his  men  were  robbing  them  of  provisions,  and  injuring 
the  corn-fields. 

**You  must  stand  that,"  rebuked  Pontiac.  *T  am 
fighting  your  battles  against  the  English.'' 

He  gave  out  receipts,  for  the  supplies  as  taken. 
These  receipts  were  pieces  of  bark,  pictured  with  the 
kind  of  supplies  taken,  and  signed  with  the  figure  of 
an  otter — the  totem  of  the  Ottawas.  After  the  war 
every  receipt  was  honored,  by  payment. 

Only  his  Ottawas  were  still  fighting  Detroit,  when 

87 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

on  October  30,  this  1763,  there  arrived,  from  the  French 
commander  on  the  lower  Mississippi,  a  peace  belt  and 
a  messenger  for  Pontiac. 

He  had  been  told  that  peace  had  been  declared  be- 
tween the  French  and  the  English,  but  he  had  not  be- 
lieved. Now  he  was  told  again,  by  word  direct,  that 
the  king  of  France  and  the  king  of  England  had  signed 
peace  papers ;  the  country  was  English,  his  father  the 
king  of  France  could  not  help  him.  He  must  stop  his 
war,  and  *Hake  the  English  by  the  hand." 

Weeks  before  this,  the  Indians  to  the  south  had  with- 
drawn; his  other  allies  were  fading  into  the  forest. 
So,  sullen  and  disappointed,  he,  too,  withdrew.  His 
sun  had  set,  but  he  tried  to  follow  it  southwestward. 

Before  he  gave  his  hand  to  the  English  he  did  at- 
tempt another  war.  The  tribes  of  the  Illinois  hesi- 
tated, in  council. 

**If  you  do  not  join  my  people,"  thundered  Pontiac, 
**I  will  consume  you  as  the  fire  eats  the  dry  grass  of 
the  prairies ! ' ' 

The  plot  failed,  but  the  Illinois  did  not  forget  his 
insulting  words.  In  April,  1769,  while  leaving  a  coun- 
cil with  the  Illinois  beside  the  Mississippi  River,  and 
wearing  a  blue-and-silver  uniform  coat  given  to  him 
years  before  by  the  brave  General  Montcalm  of  the 
French,  he  was  murdered  by  a  Kaskaskia  of  the  Illinois 
nation,  in  the  forest  which  became  East  St.  Louis. 

The  Kaskaskia  had  been  bribed  by  an  English 
trader,  with  a  barrel  of  whiskey,  to  do  the  deed.  There 
died  Pontiac.  He  was  buried,  it  is  said,  on  the  site  of 
the  present  Southern  Hotel  in  St.  Louis  City. 

88 


THE  BLOODY  BELT  OF  PONTIAC 

The  Illinois  suffered  from  this  foul  crime.  All  of 
Pontiac's  loyal  people — ^the  Ottawas,  the  Potawatomis, 
the  Sacs,  the  Foxes,  the  Chippewas — rose  against  them 
and  swept  them  from  the  face  of  the  earth. 

Now  what  of  Catharine,  who  saved  Detroit  from 
Pontiac^  She  saved  Detroit,  but  Fort  Detroit  did  not 
save  her,  Pontiac  was  no  fool;  he  very  quickly  had 
suspected  her.  He  well  knew  that  Major  Gladwyn  was 
her  friend,  and  that  she  had  taken  the  moccasins  in  to 
him. 

She  was  seized  by  the  chief,  beaten  almost  lifeless 
with  a  lacrosse  racquet,  and  condemned  to  the  meanest 
of  labor.  After  the  siege.  Major  Gladwyn  made  no 
effort  to  rescue  her  or  reward  her.  At  last,  when  an 
old  and  miserable  woman,  she  fell  into  a  kettle  of  boil- 
ing maple  sap,  and  died. 


89 


CHAPTER  VIII 

LOGAN  THE  GREAT  MINGO  (1725-1774) 
AND  THE  EVIL  DAYS  THAT   CAME  UPON   HIM 

DURING  the  French-and-Indian  war  with  Eng- 
land, and  during  the  war  waged  by  Pontiac, 
there  was  one  prominent  chief  who  did  not  take  up  the 
hatchet.  His  name  was  the  English  one  of  John 
Logan.  He  was  a  Mingo,  or  Iroquois,  of  a  Cajniga 
band  that  had  drifted  south  into  east  central  Pennsyl- 
vania. 

There  Chief  Shikellemus,  his  father,  had  settled  and 
had  proved  himself  a  firm  friend  of  the  whites.  Old 
Shikellemus  invited  the  Moravian  missionaries  to  take 
refuge  on  his  lands.  He  spoke  good  English.  He 
acted  as  agent  between  his  people  and  the  Province  of 
Pennsylvania.  He  was  hospitable  and  shrewd,  and 
ever  refused  to  touch  liquor  because,  as  he  said,  he 
'*did  not  wish  to  become  a  fool.'' 

His  house  was  elevated  on  stilts,  as  protection 
against  the  ^*big  drunks." 

About  1725,  a  second  son  was  born  to  him  and  his 
wife,  and  named  Tah-gah-jute,  meaning  **His-eye- 
lashes-stick-out,"  or,  ** Open-eyes."  In  admiration  of 
his  good  friend  James  Logan,  of  Philadelphia,  secre- 
tary of  Pennsylvania,  and  sometimes  acting  governor, 

90 


LOGAN  THE  GREAT  MINGO 

Chief  Shikellemus  gave  little  Tah-gah-jute  the  English 
name  of  Logan. 

As  *^  John  Logan"  he  was  known  to  the  settlers. 

The  wise  and  upright  Shikellemus  died — *4n  the 
fear  of  the  Lord."  His  people  scattered  wider. 
Logan  his  son  moved  westward,  to  the  Shawnee  and 
Delaware  country  of  Pennsylvania. 

Here  he  married  a  Shawnee  girl.  He  set  up  house- 
keeping and  traded  venison  and  skins  with  the  white 
settlers,  for  powder,  ball,  and  sugar  and  flour. 

The  tide  of  white  blood  was  surging  ever  farther 
into  the  west,  and  the  Indians'  hunting  grounds. 
Many  of  the  Indians  grew  uneasy.  Pontiac's  Bloody 
Belt  passed  from  village  to  village,  but  the  weary  and 
nervous  traveler  was  always  welcome  at  the  cabin  of 
Logan,  **friend  of  the  white  man." 

A  white  hunter.  Brown,  trailing  bear  in  the  Penn- 
sylvania timber,  laid  aside  his  rifle  and  stooped  to 
drink  at  a  spring.  Suddenly  he  saw  mirrored  in  the 
clear  water  the  tall  figure  of  an  armed  Indian,  watch- 
ing him.  Up  he  sprang,  leaped  for  his  gun,  leveled  it 
— but  the  Indian  smiled,  knocked  the  priming  from  his 
own  gun,  and  extended  his  hand. 

This  was  Logan — **the  best  specimen  of  humanity 
I  ever  met  with,  red  or  white,"  wrote  Brown.  **He 
could  speak  a  little  English,  and  told  me  there  was  an- 
other white  hunter  a  little  way  down  the  stream,  and 
guided  me  to  his  camp." 

Other  stories  of  Logan's  kindnesses  to  the  whites  in 
his  country  are  told.  In  the  latter  part  of  1763,  a  party 
of  white  settlers  had  broken  in  upon  the  refuge  of 

91 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

twenty  Conestoga  Iroquois,  in  southern  Pennsylvania, 
and  killed  every  one.  The  Conestogas  were  kin  to  the 
other  Mingos ;  but  Logan  made  no  war  talk  about  it. 

Simon  Kenton,  one  of  the  most  famous  scouts  of 
Daniel  Boone's  time  in  Kentucky  and  Ohio,  says  that 
his  form  was  ** striking  and  manly,''  his  countenance 
**calm  and  noble." 

Although  Logan  started  out  to  walk  the  straight 
path  of  peace,  sore  days  were  ahead  of  him.  He 
moved  westward  again  in  1770,  erected  a  cabin  at  the 
mouth  of  Beaver  Creek,  on  the  Ohio  side  of  the  Ohio 
River  about  half  way  between  Pittsburg  of  Pennsyl- 
vania and  Wheeling  of  West  Virginia. 

His  cabin  was  kept  wide  open.  Everybody  spoke 
well  of  Logan.  He  removed  once  more.  The  new 
cabin,  **home  of  the  white  man,"  was  built  on  the 
Sciota  River  of  central  Ohio,  among  the  Shawnees  of 
Chief  Cornstalk's  tribe.  He  and  Chief  Cornstalk  were 
close  friends.  They  both  stood  out  for  peace.  But 
Cornstalk  had  been  a  war  chief  also,  during  the  Pontiac 
up-rising.  He  and  his  warriors  had  obeyed  the  Bloody 
Belt.  His  name,  Cornstalk,  meant  that  he  was  the 
support  of  the  Shawnee  nation. 

Now  the  evil  days  of  Logan  were  close  at  hand. 

Since  the  treaty  signed  with  the  twenty-two  tribes 
of  Pontiac,  in  1765,  there  had  been  general  peace  be- 
tween the  red  men  and  the  white  men  in  America. 
This  peace  was  not  to  continue. 

For  instance.  Bald  Eagle,  a  friendly  old  Delaware 
chief,  who  frequently  came  in,  by  canoe,  to  trade  for 
tobacco  and  sugar,  was  killed,  without  cause,  by  three 

92 


LOGAN  THE  GREAT  MINGO 

white  men,  in  southern  Pennsylvania.  They  propped 
him,  sitting,  in  the  stern  of  his  canoe,  thrust  a  piece  of 
journey-cake,  or  corn-bread,  into  his  mouth,  and  set 
him  afloat  down  the  stream.  Many  settlers  who  knew 
him  well  saw  him  pass  and  wondered  why  he  did  not 
stop  for  a  visit.  Finally  he  was  found  to  be  dead,  and 
was  brought  ashore  for  burial. 

There  were  bad  Indians,  too,  who  murdered  and 
stole.  For  this,  the  good  Indians  suffered.  Western 
Pennsylvania  and  eastern  Ohio  were  a  wild  and  lawless 
country. 

Up  to  1774  these  tit-f  or-tats  had  not  brought  on  war. 
But  the  French  of  Canada  and  the  Great  Lakes  coun- 
try still  secretly  urged  the  Indians  to  drive  out  the  set- 
tlers. The  Americans  were  becoming  annoyed  by  the 
harsh  laws  of  the  English  king.  There  were  English 
oflScials  who  desired  an  Indian  war.  That  would  give 
the  Colonists  something  else  to  think  about. 

Lord  Dunmore,  royal  governor  of  Virginia,  was  one 
of  these  officials.  He  had  claim  to  land  extending  into 
Pennsylvania;  Fort  Pitt,  at  present  Pittsburg,  was 
garrisoned  by  Virginia  troops,  and  he  wanted  to  keep 
them  there,  to  help  his  land  schemes. 

April  25, 1774,  he  issued  a  proclamation  calling  upon 
the  commander  at  Fort  Pitt  to  be  ready  to  repel  the 
Indians.     The  commander  called  on  the  border  settlers. 

There  was  great  excitement.  Almost  at  once  the 
peace  chain  that  Logan  had  received  from  his  father 
Shikellemus  was  broken.  He  and  his  wife  and  rela- 
tives, and  a  number  of  Shawnees  and  Delawares,  were 
encamped  along  Yellow  Creek.    This  emptied  into  the 

93 


BOYS'     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

Ohio  Eiver  a  few  miles  below  Beaver  Creek,  his  former 
home. 

On  the  very  day  after  the  commander  at  Fort  Pitt 
had  issued  his  notice  to  the  border  people  to  arm,  from 
Wheeling,  on  the  Ohio  in  West  Virginia,  Captain 
Michael  Cresap  led  a  party  of  militia  and  frontiers- 
men to  hunt  Indians. 

They  promptly  killed  two  friendly  Shawnees  at  Pipe 
Creek,  fourteen  miles  below  Wheeling.  The  Shawnees 
had  no  time  in  which  to  make  resistance.  The  next 
Indians  who  were  attacked,  fired  back ;  one  white  man 
was  wounded.  Among  the  Indians  killed  in  these  two 
meetings  was  a  relative  of  Logan. 

Captain  Cresap  started  north  to  wipe  out  Chief 
Logan  *s  camp.  He  well  knew  that  as  §oon  as  the  word 
of  the  killings  reached  the  camp,  trouble  might  break. 
On  the  way  his  heart  failed  him.  He  was  a  hot-headed 
man,  he  hated  Indians — but  he  balked  at  shooting 
women  and  children.  So  he  turned  aside,  with  his 
party. 

There  were  white  men  not  so  particular  as  he.  On 
Baker's  Bottom,  opposite  the  mouth  of  Yellow  Creek, 
lived  Joshua  Baker,  whose  principal  business  was  that 
of  selling  rum  to  the  Indians.  In  the  same  settlement 
lived  Daniel  Greathouse — **a  ruffian  in  human  shape,'' 
and  an  enemy  to  all  Indians. 

Greathouse,  too,  was  inspired  to  ''strike  the  post," 
in  the  worst  Indian  fashion.  He  gathered  thirty-two 
whites,  and  hid  them  in  Baker's  house.  He  feared 
that  the  Logan  camp  had  heard  of  the  Cresap  killings, 
so  he  crossed  over  the  river,  to  investigate. 

94 


LOGAN  THE  GREAT  MINGO 

A  friendly  squaw  warned  him  to  go  back,  or  he  might 
be  harmed,  for  the  camp  was  very  angry.  Back  he 
went.  Because  he  was  afraid  to  attack  the  camp  with 
his  thirty-two  men,  he  invited  the  Indians  over,  to  drink 
** peace''  with  him.    He  was  a  rum  seller,  himself. 

On  April  30,  they  came.  First  a  canoe  containing 
six  warriors,  Logan's  sister,  another  woman,  and  a 
little  girl.  The  warriors  were  made  drunk,  and  all 
but  the  little  girl  were  butchered. 

Across  the  river  Logan  heard  the  shooting.  He  sent 
two  men  in  a  canoe  to  find  out  what  was  the  matter. 
They  were  killed.  A  larger  canoe  was  sent.  It  was 
ambushed  and  the  survivors  fled  back  to  the  camp. 

Now  Logan  learned  that  his  sister  and  brother  had 
been  murdered.  They  were  the  last  of  his  blood  rela- 
tives. That  was  his  reward  for  having  remained  the 
friend  of  the  white  man.  That  was  his  reward  for 
having  opened  his  cabin  to  the  white  wayfarer.  He 
went  bad,  himself.  He  saw  only  red,  and  he  vowed 
vengeance.  A  bitter  wrath  turned  his  heart  sour. 
He  felt  that  he  must  grasp  the  hatchet,  buried  so  long 
ago  by  his  father  Shikellemus. 

The  war  spirit  blazed  high  among  whites  and  reds 
on  the  frontier.  The  whites  accused  the  Indians  of 
many  thoughts  and  deeds — some  false,  some  true.  The 
Indians  accused  the  whites  of  many  deeds — ^mainly 
true.  Block-houses  were  hastily  erected,  for  the  pro- 
tection of  settlers.  Governor  Dunmore  of  Virginia 
called  out  troops  in  earnest.  ** Dunmore 's  War"  as 
well  as  **Cresap's  War"  was  this  named. 

The  Shawnees,  the  Delawares,  the  Mingo  Cayugas, 

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BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

the  Wyandot  Hurons,  held  councils  in  their  Scioto 
Elver  country  of  central  Ohio.  Belts  were  sent  to  the 
Miamis  on  the  west  and  the  Senecas  on  the  east.  There 
were  debates  upon  striking  the  Long  Knives,  as  the 
Virginians  were  called. 

These  Long  Knife  Americans  had  crossed  the  rivers 
and  the  mountains,  were  possessing  themselves  of 
Ohio,  and  even  of  Kentucky;  much  blood  had  been 
shed,  and  the  wiser  heads  among  the  tribes  did  not 
know  exactly  what  to  do  about  it. 

The  great  Cornstalk,  loved  chief  of  the  Shawnees, 
and  now  fifty  years  in  age,  lifted  his  voice  for  peace. 
He  could  see  no  good  in  a  war  against  the  Americans. 
Logan,  gnawed  by  his  own  wrongs,  remained  apart  and 
said  little.    But  the  Americans  struck  first. 

Hoping  to  keep  the  Indians  at  home,  in  June  four 
hundred  border  men  were  ordered  by  Governor  Dun- 
more  of  Virginia  to  attack  the  villages  in  Ohio.  They 
marched  west  across  country  until  in  southern  Ohio 
they  destroyed  two  Shawnee  towns. 

The  light-skinned  Shawnees  were  known  as  the 
fiercest,  most  stubborn  fighters  among  all  the  Algon- 
quins  between  the  AUeghanies  and  the  Mississippi 
Eiver.  Now  their  hot  natures  burst.  Chief  Cornstalk 
yielded. 

*'It  is  well,''  he  said.  '*If  you  go  to  war,  then  I  will 
lead  you.    If  we  fight  at  all,  we  must  fight  together.'' 

But  of  the  Indians  it  was  Logan  who  first  struck  the 
Long  Knives.  With  only  seven  warriors  he  suddenly 
appeared  in  Virginia  itself.  This  was  Long  Knife 
country.    Here,  July  12,  he  fell  upon  William  Robin- 

96 


LOGAN  THE  GREAT  MINGO 

son,  Thomas  Hellen  and  Coleman  Brown,  three  set- 
tlers who  were  gathering  flax  in  their  field. 

Brown  died  under  the  first  volley ;  Hellen  and  Robin- 
son ran  hard.  Hellen  was  an  old  man,  and  easily 
caught,  but  William  Robinson  was  young  and  strong. 
Dodging  and  legging,  he  had  almost  reached  the  tim- 
ber. Hearing  loud  shouting,  with  English  words,  be- 
hind him,  and  fearing  a  rifle  bullet,  he  turned  his  head 
and  lunged  full  tilt  into  a  tree.  Down  he  dropped, 
stunned. 

After  a  bit  he  came  to.  He  was  lying,  securely  tied, 
hands  and  feet.  Logan  was  sitting  quietly  beside  him, 
waiting  for  him  to  waken.  The  old  man  Hellen  had 
not  been  harmed,  either.  Logan's  party  took  their 
two  captives  to  Logan's  town  in  Ohio — treated  them 
kindly  on  the  way. 

**What  will  be  done  to  us  at  your  town?"  asked  Rob- 
inson. 

**You  will  be  made  to  run  the  gauntlet,''  answered 
Logan.  **But  if  you  listen  to  my  words,  you  will  not 
be  hurt.  You  must  break  through  the  lines  and  run 
to  the  council  house.  When  you  are  in  the  coun- 
cil house,  you  will  be  safe.  That  will  end  the  gaunt- 
let." 

Approaching  the  Mingo  and  Shawnee  towns,  Logan 
uttered  a  terrific  scalp-halloo,  as  signal  of  success. 
Warriors  hastened  out.  The  gauntlet  was  formed. 
This  was  two  lines  of  warriors,  squaws  and  children, 
armed  with  sticks,  clubs  and  switches.  Through  the 
long,  narrow,  living  aisle  the  two  prisoners  had  to 
make  their  way. 

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BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

Eemembering  Logan's  advice,  Eobinson  charged 
aside,  broke  through,  and  raced  for  the  council  house. 
All  out  of  breath,  he  reached  it  ahead  of  his  howling 
pursuers.  No  Indian  dared  to  attack  him  there.  It 
was  sanctuary. 

Poor  old  Mr.  Hellen  failed.  The  lines  were  stout, 
the  clubs  and  switches  blinded  him;  before  he  had 
reached  the  council  house  a  war-club  struck  him  help- 
less. He  might  have  been  beaten  to  death  had  not 
Eobinson  bravely  grabbed  him  and  dragged  him  in. 

He  had  won  his  life,  and  was  adopted  into  an  Indian 
family.  Now  the  Indians  were  angry  with  Eobinson. 
They  decided  to  bum  him  at  the  stake. 

*  *  Have  no  fear.    You  shall  not  die, ' '  asserted  Logan. 

But  matters  looked  bad.  He  was  tied  to  the  stake. 
While  he  stood  there,  with  the  squaws  howling  around 
him,  he  heard  Logan  speak,  appealing  for  his  life. 

**The  most  powerful  orator  IVe  ever  listened  to,*' 
afterward  said  Eobinson.  **His  gestures  and  face 
were  wonderful !'' 

The  warriors  still  called  for  fire.  The  torch  was 
ready,  when  Logan  sprang  angrily  forward.  With  his 
own  hatchet  he  cut  the  ropes,  and  marching  the  white 
captive  through  the  mob  landed  him  in  the  lodge  of  an 
old  squaw.  Few  chiefs  would  have  dared  an  act  like 
this,  to  save  merely  a  white  man,  and  an  enemy. 

However,  Logan  was  not  yet  done.  Thirteen  of  his 
people,  he  claimed,  had  been  killed  by  the  whites ;  and 
thirteen  white  scalps  should  pay.  Just  before  he  set 
out  on  the  war-path  again,  he  brought  to  William  Eob- 
inson a  goose-quill  and  some  gun-powder. 

98 


LOGAN  THE  GREAT  MINGO 

He  bade  Robinson  sharpen  the  quill,  and  with  gun- 
powder-and-water  for  ink  write  a  letter. 

Captain  Cresap: 

What  did  you  kill  my  people  on  Yellow  Creek  for?  The  white 
people  killed  my  kin  at  Conestoga,  a  great  while  ago,  and  I  thought 
nothing  of  that.  But  you  killed  my  kin  again  on  Yellow  Creek,  and 
took  my  cousin  prisoner.  Then  I  thought  I  must  kill,  too;  and  I 
have  been  three  times  to  war  since ;  but  all  the  Indians  are  not  angry, 
only  myself. 

July  21, 1774.  Captain  John  Logan. 

This  note  was  carried  clear  down  into  western  Vir- 
ginia, as  if  to  show  how  far  Logan  could  reach.  It 
was  found  tied  to  a  war-club  and  left  at  a  plundered 
settler's  cabin. 

Logan  never  would  believe  but  that  Michael  Cresap 
had  killed  the  warriors  and  women  at  Yellow  Creek. 
When  Captain  Cresap  heard  of  this  note,  and  that  he 
was  blamed,  he  said  that  he  would  like  to  sink  his  toma- 
hawk in  Daniel  Greathouse's  head! 

Chief  Logan  was  not  long  in  getting  his  thirteen 
scalps. 

**Now,''  he  announced,  **I  am  satisfied.  My  rela- 
tions have  been  paid  for.    I  will  sit  still.'' 

He  was  not  to  sit  still  yet.  The  hands  of  the  Shaw- 
nees  grasped  the  hatchet  very  firmly.  Forty  scalps  at 
a  time  had  been  hung  in  the  Shawnee  lodges,  but  the 
spirits  of  their  fathers  and  the  ashes  of  their  towns 
called  for  more.  The  Delawares  had  not  taken  pay- 
ment enough  for  the  scalp  of  old  Bald  Eagle.  The 
Senecas  remembered  that  many  years  ago  eight  of 
their  warriors  were  attacked  by  one  hundred  and  fifty 
Long  Knife  soldiers.    The  Mingos  had  not  forgotten 

99 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

the  massacre  of  the  Conestogas.    The  Wyandots  were 
red,  and  hated  the  white  face  in  the  east. 

These  nations  formed  the  league  of  the  Northern 
Confederacy,  to  defend  themselves.  Cornstalk  the 
Shawnee  was  chosen  head  chief. 


100 


CHAPTER  IX       n^i^-       /; 
CORNSTALK  LEADS  THE  WARRIORS c(1774-K77>>.  -, 
HOW   HE  AND  LOGAN   STROVE  AND  DIED 

AT  the  last  of  September  a  Shawnee  scout  ran 
breathless  into  the  Chief  Cornstalk  town.  He 
brought  word  that  far  across  the  Ohio  River,  in  north- 
western (now  West)  Virginia,  he  and  his  comrade  had 
met  a  great  column  of  Long  Knives,  advancing  over 
the  mountains,  as  if  to  invade  the  Indian  country.  His 
comrade  had  been  killed.  He  himself  had  come  back, 
with  the  word. 

Taking  eleven  hundred  warriors — the  pick  of  the 
Shawnees,  the  fighting  Delawares,  the  Wyandots,  the 
Mingo  Cayugas  and  the  Mingo  Senecas — Chief  Corn- 
stalk marched  rapidly  down  to  give  battle. 

There  really  were  two  American  columns,  on  their 
way  to  destroy  the  Shawnee  and  Mingo  towns  in  inte- 
rior Ohio. 

The  Division  of  Northern  and  Western  Virginia, 
twelve  hundred  men,  had  mustered  at  Fort  Pitt  (Pitts- 
burg, Pennsylvania),  in  the  territory  disputed  by  Vir- 
ginia and  Pennsylvania.  It  was  under  command  of 
Lord  Dunmore  himself,  governor  of  Virginia  for  the 
king  of  England. 

The  Division  of  Southern  and  Eastern  Virginia,  fif- 
teen hundred  men,  had  mustered  at  Lewisburg,  West 

101 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

Virginia.    It  was  under  command  of  General  Andrew 
Lewis,  a  valiant  soldier. 

The  Lord  Dunmore  division  was  to  march  south,  the 
Qenerkl  J/ewiS:  division  was  to  march  west;  the  two 
Were  to  join  forces  at  Point  Pleasant,  where  on  the 
Jbfor-dfir'  *Qf  West-  'Virginia  the  Big  Kanawha  River 
empties  into  the  noble  Ohio. 

Cornstalk  moved  fast.  He  had  as  aides  Logan  of 
the  Cayugas,  Chi-ya-wee  of  the  Wyandots,  Scop-pa- 
thus  of  the  Senecas,  young  Red  Hawk  of  the  fighting 
Delawares,  his  own  son  El-li-nip-si-co — ^noted  chiefs, 
all.  Among  the  Shawnee  sub-chiefs  was  Puck-ee-shin- 
wah,  father  of  a  boy  named  Tecumseh  who  grew  to  the 
greatness  of  Pontiac. 

The  General  Lewis  division  had  arrived  first  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Big  Kanawha.  On  the  evening  of  Oc- 
tober 9,  from  the  opposite  side  of  the  Ohio,  Corn- 
stalk's and  Logan's  men  sighted  them  there,  in  camp. 

Fresh  news  had  come  to  Cornstalk.  He  had  learned 
of  the  other  division,  under  Lord  Dunmore.  He  had 
learned  that  the  column  across  from  him  was  equal  to 
his  own  force,  and  that  another  detachment  of  it  was 
hurrying  on  its  trail. 

In  a  council  of  the  chiefs  and  principal  warriors  he 
proposed  that  he  go  over,  in  person,  and  treat  for 
peace.    But  all  his  men  voted  him  down. 

**Very  well,"  he  replied.  **If  you  are  resolved  to 
fight,  then  fight  you  shall.  We  must  not  delay.  It  is 
likely  that  we  shall  have  hard  work  tomorrow,  but  if 
any  warrior  attempts  to  run  away,  I  will  kill  him  with 
my  own  hand." 

102 


CORNSTALK  LEADS  THE  WARRIORS 

This  night  the  warriors  ferried  the  Ohio,  above  the 
camp,  by  means  of  seventy-eight  rafts.  They  worked 
hard,  and  formed  for  battle  at  daybreak. 

**We  will  make  a  line  behind  the  Long  Knives,"  or- 
dered Cornstalk,  **and  drive  them  forward  like  bul- 
locks into  the  two  rivers.'* 

Most  of  the  Virginians  were  asleep  in  their  tents, 
when,  before  sunrise,  two  of  their  hunters,  seeking 
deer  for  breakfast,  found  the  Indian  army,  already  in 
battle  array,  and  covering,  as  one  of  the  hunters  ex- 
citedly reported,  ^^four  acres  of  ground. *' 

But  these  Virginians  were  no  fools.  Of  the  eleven 
hundred  here,  wellnigh  every  man  had  been  a  buck- 
skin borderer,  deadly  with  rifle,  tomahawk  and  knife, 
and  up  to  all  Indian  tricks.  They  were  fairly  drilled, 
too,  as  militia.  A  number  of  the  officers  had  fought 
under  Major  George  Washington,  when  on  the  fatal 
Braddock's  Field,  in  1755,  the  American  Rangers  had 
tried  to  save  the  day  from  the  French,  and  from  Pon- 
tiac's  whooping  warriors. 

They  all  had  marched  for  five  weeks  across  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  miles  of  trackless  mountain  country, 
driving  their  pack-horses  and  their  herds  of  beef  cat- 
tle ;  now  they  rallied  briskly  to  save  their  lives.  It  was 
nip  and  tuck. 

From  before  sunrise  until  sunset  raged  the  great 
battle  of  Point  Pleasant,  or  the  Big  Kanawha.  It  was 
the  first  pitched  battle  between  simon-pure  Americans 
— but  the  Revolution  was  near  and  after  this  the  Amer- 
icans were  to  do  their  own  fighting. 

The  lines  were  over  a  mile  long,  rarely  more  than 

103 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

twenty  yards  apart,  frequently  less  than  six  yards 
apart,  and  sometimes  mingling.  The  armies  were 
equal. 

Both  sides  fought  Indian  fashion,  from  behind  trees 
and  brush.  Eifle  met  rifle,  tomahawk  met  tomahawk, 
knife  met  knife.  The  air  was  filled  with  whoops  and 
cheers.  Able  chiefs  faced  able  chiefs — on  the  white 
American  side  there  were  leaders  who  soon  became 
more  famous  in  the  Revolution  and  in  the  history  of 
the  new  nation. 

It  was  a  long-famous  battle.  A  ballad  written  upon 
it  was  frequently  sung,  on  the  frontier : 

Let  us  mind  the  tenth  day  of  October, 
Seventy-four,  which  caused  woe; 
The  Indian  savages  they  did  cover 
The  pleasant  banks  of  the  0-hi-o. 

The  battle  beginning  in  the  morning, 
Throughout  the  day  it  lashed  sore, 
Till  the  evening  shades  they  were  returning 
Upon  the  banks  of  the  0-hi-o. 

Seven  score  lay  dead  and  wounded. 
Of  champions  that  did  face  their  foe, 
By  which  the  heathens  were  confounded, 
Upon  the  banks  of  the  0-hi-o. 

Col.  Lewis  and  noble  captains 
Did  down  to  death  like  Uriah  go. 
Alas,  their  heads  wound  up  in  napkins, 
Upon  the  banks  of  the  0-hi-o. 

0  bless  the  mighty  King  of  Heaven 
For  all  his  wondrous  works  below, 
Who  hath  to  us  the  victory  given, 
Upon  the  banks  of  the  0-hi-o. 

104 


CORNSTALK  LEADS  THE  WARRIORS 

Logan  was  seen  here,  there,  everywhere.  So  was 
Cornstalk.  His  mighty  voice  was  heard  above  the  din, 
like  the  voice  of  old  Annawan  when  King  Philip  had 
been  surprised.  *^Be  strong!  Be  strong!*'  he  ap- 
pealed to  his  warriors.  With  his  tomahawk  he  struck 
down  a  skulker.  That  had  been  his  promise,  in  the 
council. 

All  this  October  day  the  battle  continued.  In  single 
encounters,  man  to  man,  valorous  deeds  were  done. 

Cornstalk  proved  himself  a  worthy  general.  When 
his  line  bent  back,  before  the  discipline  of  the  Long 
Knives,  it  was  only  to  form  an  ambush,  and  then  the 
whites  were  bent  back.  He  had  early  placed  his  war- 
riors across  the  base  of  the  point,  so  that  they  held  the 
whites  in  the  angle  of  the  two  rivers.  They  dragged 
logs  and  brush  to  position,  as  breast- works.  **  We  will 
drive  the  Long  Knives  into  the  rivers  like  so  many 
bullocks." 

That  was  not  to  be.  Two  of  General  Lewis's  colo- 
nels had  fallen;  the  Indian  fire  was  very  severe  and 
accurate;  but  after  vainly  trying  to  feel  out  the  end 
of  the  red  line,  the  general  at  last  succeeded,  toward 
evening,  in  sending  a  company  around. 

Chief  Cornstalk  thought  that  this  company,  appear- 
ing in  his  rear,  was  the  absent  part  of  the  division. 
Lest  he  be  caught  between  two  fires,  he  swung  about 
and  skillfully  withdrew. 

The  battle  slackened,  at  dusk.  This  night  he  safely 
removed  his  army  across  the  Ohio  again,  that  they 
might  avoid  the  Lord  Dunmore  division  and  protect 
their  towns  in  Ohio. 

105 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

Nearly  all  the  Indian  bodies  found,  and  nearly  all 
the  Virginians  killed  and  wounded,  were  shot  in  the 
head  or  the  breast.  That  was  the  marksmanship  and 
the  kind  of  fighting ! 

The  Long  Knives  lost  seventy-five  men  killed  and 
one  hundred  and  fifty  wounded.  They  lost  two  great 
chiefs :  Colonel  Charles  Lewis,  the  brother  of  the  gen- 
eral, and  Colonel  John  Field — both  Braddock  men ;  six 
captains  and  as  many  lieutenants  were  killed,  also. 

The  Indians  said  that  had  they  known  how  to  clean 
their  rifles,  they  would  have  done  better.  Cornstalk 
and  Logan  lost  the  sub-chief  Puck-ee-shin-wah,  but  only 
forty  or  fifty  others  in  killed  and  wounded.  But  when 
they  hastened  for  their  towns  they  found  them  in  dan- 
ger from  the  Lord  Dunmore  column. 

Governor  Dunmore  sent  Chief  White-eyes,  of  the 
Delawares,  who  had  not  joined  in  the  war,  to  ask  Chief 
Cornstalk  for  a  talk.  Chief  White-eyes  returned  with 
no  answer,  for  the  Cornstalk  chiefs  were  in  bitter 
council. 

Cornstalk  addressed  them: 

**You  would  not  make  peace  before  Point  Pleasant; 
what  is  your  voice  now,  when  the  Long  Knives  are 
pressing  on  in  two  columns  T' 

There  was  no  reply. 

**We  cannot  save  our  villages,"  he  continued.  **If 
your  voice  is  for  war,  let  us  first  kill  our  women  and 
children.  Then  let  us  warriors  go  out  and  fight  like 
men  until  we,  too,  are  killed. '  ^ 

Still  no  reply.  Cornstalk  dashed  his  hatchet  into 
the  council  post. 

106 


CORNSTALK  LEADS  THE  WARRIORS 

**You  act  like  children/*  he  thundered.  **I  will  go 
and  make  peace,  myself/* 

And  leaving  his  hatchet  sticking  in  the  post,  go  he 
did. 

Logan  had  not  been  here.  He  was  away,  down  in 
Virginia,  scouting  with  his  Mingos,  and  delivering  his 
note  to  Captain  Cresap.  On  October  21  he  arrived 
with  scalps. 

He  refused  to  meet  the  governor. 

**Tell  the  governor  that  I  am  a  warrior,  not  a  coun- 
cillor, * '  he  bade. 

His  sore  heart  was  not  yet  healed.  His  Mingos  were 
for  war.  The  Revolution  was  brewing,  and  Governor 
Dunmore  was  anxious  to  be  about  his  own  affairs.  So 
he  sought  out  Logan  with  two  messengers.  Scout  Simon 
Girty,  and  Trader  John  Gibson,  who  spoke  the  Mingo 
tongue.  They  returned  with  Logan's  stubborn  an- 
swer, written  out  by  John  Gibson : 

I  appeal  to  any  white  to  say,  if  ever  he  entered  Logan's  cabin 
hungry,  and  he  gave  him  not  meatj  if  ever  he  came  cold  and 
naked,  and  he  clothed  him  not. 

During  the  course  of  the  last  long,  bloody  war  [the  French  and 
Indian  and  the  Pontiac  war]  Logan  remained  idle  in  his  cabin,  an 
advocate  for  peace.  Such  was  my  love  for  the  whites,  that  my 
countrymen  pointed  as  they  passed,  and  said,  "Logan  is  the  friend 
of  the  white  men." 

I  had  even  thought  to  have  lived  with  you,  but  for  the  injuries  of 
one  man.  Col.  Cresap,  the  last  spring,  in  cold  blood,  and  unpro- 
voked, murdered  all  the  relatives  of  Logan;  not  even  sparing-  my 
women  and  children. 

There  runs  not  a  drop  of  my  blood  in  the  veins  of  any  living 
creature.  This  called  on  me  for  revenge.  I  have  sought  it.  I  have 
killed  many.  I  have  fully  glutted  my  vengeance.  For  my  country, 
I  rejoice  at  the  beams  of  peace.    But  do  not  harbor  a  thought  that 

107 


BOYS'     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

mine  is  the  joy  of  fear.  Logan  never  felt  fear.  He  will  not  turn 
on  his  heel  to  save  his  life.  Who  is  there  to  mourn  for  Logan? 
Not  one! 

Trader  Gibson  reported  that  while  making  this 
speech,  Logan  wept.  The  sad-hearted  chief  probably 
did  not  put  his  words  in  exactly  this  order,  but  they 
made  a  great  sensation.  Soon  they  were  being  re- 
peated throughout  all  the  Ohio  River  country,  and  east 
of  the  Alleghanies,  in  towns,  cabins  and  camps. 

**Who  is  there  to  mourn  for  Logan!"  would  ask 
some  voice,  in  the  circle.  And  another  voice  would  re- 
ply, with  deep  feeling:    **Not  one!" 

President  Thomas  Jefferson  included  the  speech  in 
a  book  that  he  published — ** Notes  on  Virginia,"  and 
said  that  he  challenged  the  orations  of  the  world  to 
produce  anything  better. 

It  was  copied  into  other  books.  School-children 
memorized  it,  for  ** speaking  day";  grown  people  used 
it,  in  contests ;  and  for  one  hundred  years  it  was  the 
favorite  platform  piece.  Thus  Logan  lived  in  the 
white  man's  words. 

Still  Logan  did  not  come  in  to  the  peace  talk  held 
with  Governor  Dunmore,  southeast  of  present  Circle- 
ville  in  south  central  Ohio.  The  Shawnees  and  Dela- 
wares  said: 

**  Logan  is  like  a  mad  dog.  His  bristles  are  up ;  they 
are  not  yet  fallen,  but  the  good  talk  may  smooth  them 
down." 

He  stayed  close  in  his  cabin,  up  the  Scioto  River, 
and  Cornstalk  spoke  for  the  Shawnees,  Delawares  and 
Wyandots.    It  was  another  great  address. 

108 


CORNSTALK  LEADS  THE  WARRIORS 

**I  have  heard  the  first  orators  of  Virginia — Patrick 
Henry  and  Richard  Henry  Lee/'  declared  Colonel  Ben- 
jamin Wilson,  of  Dunmore's  men,  **but  never  have  I 
heard  one  whose  powers  surpassed  those  of  Cornstalk 
on  that  occasion.  *' 

Cornstalk  told  of  the  wrongs  suffered  by  the  In- 
dians, in  their  hunting  grounds ;  how  they  were  losing 
the  lands  of  their  fathers,  and  were  being  cheated  by 
the  white  men.  He  asked  that  nobody  be  permitted  to 
trade,  on  private  account,  with  the  Indians,  but  that 
the  Government  should  send  in  goods,  to  be  exchanged 
for  skins  and  furs,  and  that  no  **fire  water"  should 
enter  into  the  business,  for  **from  fire  water  there 
comes  evil.'' 

Then  he  buried  the  hatchet.  He  never  dug  it  up. 
When  the  Eevolution  broke,  in  1776,  and  the  British 
agents  urged  the  Indians  to  strike  the  post  again  and 
help  their  great  father,  the  king.  Cornstalk  held  firm 
for  friendship  with  the  Americans. 

In  the  spring  of  1777,  he  and  young  Eed  Hawk  the 
Delaware,  and  another  Indian  came  down  to  the  Amer- 
ican fort  that  had  been  built  on  the  battle  field  of  Point 
Pleasant  at  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Kanawha  of  the  West 
Virginia  border. 

*  *  My  Shawnees  are  restless, ' '  he  warned.  * '  The  cur- 
rent sets  so  strongly  against  the  Americans,  that  I 
fear  my  people  will  disobey  me  and  float  with  the 
stream. ' ' 

Captain  Matthew  Arbuckle  was  the  commander  of 
the  fort.  He  kept  the  Cornstalk  party  as  hostages  for 
the  good  behavior  of  the  Shawnees.    Cornstalk  did  not 

109 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

object,  but  spent  much  time  in  talking  with  the  officers, 
and  in  kindly  drawing  maps  of  the  Ohio  country,  for 
them. 

One  day  in  a  council  he  said : 

**When  I  was  young  and  went  to  war,  I  often 
thought,  each  might  be  my  last  adventure,  and  I  should 
return  no  more.  I  still  lived.  Now  I  am  in  the  midst 
of  you,  and  if  you  choose,  you  may  kill  me.  I  can  die 
but  once.    It  is  alike  to  me,  whether  now  or  hereafter. ' ' 

Those  brave  words  were  not  forgotten.  This  same 
day  somebody  shouted  loudly  from  the  opposite  side 
of  the  Ohio.  It  was  the  young  Chief  Ellinipsico.  He 
had  not  known  what  had  happened  to  his  father,  and 
had  traveled  many  miles,  seeking  him. 

Cornstalk  called  him  over.  There  was  much  rejoic- 
ing in  the  reunion;  they  loved  each  other  dearly. 

On  the  very  next  day  two  soldiers,  named  Hamilton 
and  Gilmore,  went  over  the  Kanawha  River,  to  hunt. 
The  majority  of  the  Ohio  Indians  were  now  helping  the 
British.  Some  of  the  hostile  warriors,  lurking  in  West 
Virginia,  fired  on  the  two  men  and  killed  Gilmore. 

Instantly  the  cry  arose  among  the  soldiers  at  the 
fort,  that  Ellinipsico  had  planned  the  ambush.  Elli- 
nipsico denied  it.  He  said  that  he  had  come  alone,  on 
purpose  to  find  his  old  father. 

But  that  made  no  difference.  Captain  John  Hall 
and  squad  were  returning  in  a  canoe  bearing  the  body 
of  Gilmore. 

**Let  us  go  and  kill  those  Indians  in  the  fortP' 

Captain  Arbuckle  and  Private  Stuart  tried  in  vain 
to  force  them  back.    In  their  cabin,  of  the  fort,  the 

110 


CORNSTALK  LEADS  THE  WARRIORS 

Chief  Cornstalk  party  had  been  told  by  a  white  woman 
that  they  were  in  danger.  They  now  heard  the  Cap- 
tain Hall  men  approaching.  Young  EUinipsico  grew 
frightened,  but  his  father  steadied  him. 

**My  son,'*  said  Cornstalk,  *'the  Great  Spirit  has 
seen  fit  that  we  should  die  together,  and  has  sent  you 
here  to  that  end.  It  is  his  will,  and  let  us  submit — it 
is  all  for  the  best." 

He  faced  the  door,  and  stood  calmly  waiting.  With- 
out a  word  or  a  struggle  he  fell  dead,  pierced  through 
the  front  by  seven  bullets.  EUinipsico  was  now  calm, 
also.  He  did  not  even  stand,  and  thus  he  died,  not 
moving.  He  was  a  worthy  son  of  Cornstalk.  Young 
Red  Hawk  was  a  Delaware  and,  hoping  to  be  spared, 
he  crept  into  the  fire-place  chimney.  But  he  was 
dragged  out,  to  death.  The  fourth  Indian  fought  with 
his  hands,  and  was  cut  to  pieces. 

The  murderers  of  the  generous,  noble-hearted  Corn- 
stalk were  never  punished,  but  they  certainly  were  not 
admired.  The  white  men  who  had  met  him  in  war  and 
in  peace  mourned  him  as  much  as  the  red  men  did. 
And  from  that  day  the  Shawnee  nation  **  became  the 
most  deadly  foe  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  frontiers." 
Who  may  blame  them? 

Meanwhile  Logan  was  living  in  misery,  but  he  was 
soon  to  follow  Chief  Cornstalk.  His  end  was  far  less 
happy.  He  had  not  been  much  heard  from  lately. 
After  he  had  refused  to  meet  the  Long  Knives  in  a 
peace  talk,  the  troops  had  destroyed  some  of  his  vil- 
lages. He  and  a  band  of  his  Mingos  retreated  north- 
ward toward  the  Great  Lakes. 

Ill 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

The  Mingos  aided  the  British,  but  Logan  pursued 
fire-water  more  frequently  than  he  did  war.  He  never 
got  over  his  grief.  It  had  bitten  him  too  deeply,  and 
had  poisoned  his  thoughts.  Still,  the  good  in  him 
cropped  out. 

When  in  1778  the  famous  American  scout  Simon 
Kenton  had  been  captured  by  the  Shawnees,  he  was 
taken,  by  the  torture  trail,  to  the  village  in  northern 
Ohio  where  Logan  was  living. 

He  had  little  hopes,  but  Logan  walked  over  to  him. 

**Well,  young  man,"  said  Logan  in  good  English, 
*Hhese  other  young  men  seem  very  mad  at  you." 

**Yes,  sir;  they  certainly  are,"  frankly  answered 
Simon  Kenton.  Already  one  arm  had  been  almost  cut 
from  his  shoulder,  by  an  axe. 

Logan  gravely  smiled.  *^Well,  don't  be  disheart- 
ened. I  am  a  great  chief.  You  are  to  go  to  Sandusky ; 
they  speak  of  burning  you  there,  but  I  will  send  two 
runners  tomorrow  to  speak  good  for  you. ' ' 

That  was  the  real  spirit  of  Logan.  The  two  run- 
ners were  sent,  and  Simon  felt  much  encouraged. 
During  the  next  day  he  was  well  treated  in  the  village. 
He  and  Logan  talked  together  freely. 

In  the  evening  the  two  runners  returned.  They  went 
straight  to  Logan's  lodge,  but  no  word  came  to  Kenton. 
Now  he  feared  again.  He  feared  more,  when  in  the 
morning  Logan  himself  approached  him,  said  only, 
**You  are  to  be  taken  at  once  to  Sandusky,"  gave  him 
a  piece  of  bread  and  whirling  on  his  heel  strode  gloom- 
ily away. 

Evidently  the  power  of  Logan  had  weakened,  the 

112 


CORNSTALK  LEADS  THE  WARRIORS 

Shawnees  had  not  listened,  and  Sandusky,  north  on  the 
Sandusky  River,  was  waiting  with  the  stake. 

So  Simon  Kenton  journeyed  unwillingly  onward,  to 
be  saved,  at  the  last  moment,  by  the  British.  But 
Logan  had  done  his  best.  After  this  he  drank  harder, 
until  his  mind  was  injured.  He  had  flashes  of  good, 
and  he  had  longer  flashes  of  bad.  He  seemed  bent 
upon  doing  as  much  harm  to  himself  as  he  could. 

Then,  in  1780,  one  day  at  Detroit  he  thought  that 
while  drunk  he  had  killed  his  Shawnee  wife.  He  imag- 
ined that  he  was  being  arrested ;  and  in  the  fight  that 
he  made  he  was  shot  dead  by  his  own  nephew,  on  the 
road  between  Detroit  and  Sandusky. 

Many  mourned  Cornstalk.  **Who  was  there  to 
mourn  Logan'' — the  ^ ^friend  of  the  white  manT' 

**Not  one!" 

But  the  name  ** Logan"  was  worn,  like  a  badge  of 
honor,  by  others  in  the  Mingo  people. 


113 


CHAPTER  X 

LITTLE  TURTLE  OF  THE  MIAMIS   (1790-1791) 
HE   WINS   GEEAT   VICTORIES 

DURING  the  Revolution,  by  which  the  United 
States  became  an  independent  nation,  the  great 
majority  of  the  Indian  tribes  within  reach  took  active 
part  on  the  side  of  the  British. 

The  Iroquois  fought  out  of  friendship,  they  said; 
the  tribes  farther  west  fought  in  the  hope  of  keeping 
the  settlers  out  of  the  Kentucky,  Ohio  and  Indiana 
country. 

For  some  years  after  the  war,  which  closed  in  1782, 
there  was  a  dispute  between  the  United  States  and 
England  over  the  carrying  out  of  certain  terms  in  the 
treaty  of  peace.  Until  the  matter  was  settled,  the 
British  kept  Detroit  and  other  American  frontier 
posts. 

This  encouraged  the  Indians.  They  had  been  much 
astonished  and  alarmed  to  find  that  the  Americans  had 
*  4aid  the  king  on  his  back. ' '  Now  that  the  British  had 
lost  the  ^ght,  what  would  happen  to  them? 

But  the  British  agents  and  traders  still  in  the  In- 
dian country  urged  them  on  to  make  good  their  boast 
that  **no  white  cabin  should  smoke  beyond  tbe  Ohio.'* 
It  was  reported  that  the  king  was  only  resting,  and  that 

114 


LITTLE  TURTLE  OF  THE  MIAMIS 

the  Americans  yet  had  no  right  to  any  land  west  of 
the  Ohio  River. 

So  the  Miamis,  the  Potawatomis,  the  Ottawas,  the 
Shawnees,  the  war  Delawares,  the  Chippewas,  the 
Kickapoos,  the  Wyandots,  the  Senecas,  refused  to 
meet  the  Americans  in  council  or  to  bury  the  hatchet. 
They  formed  a  league  of  defense. 

The  Miamis  were  the  central  nation.  **  People  who 
live  on  the  peninsula '^  was  their  Chippewa  name — for 
they  were  Algonquins  from  the  Chippewa  and  Ottawa 
country  north  of  the  Great  Lakes.  *  *  Twanh-twanh/ ' 
the  cry  of  the  crane,  was  their  own  name.  Miamis, 
from  the  Chippewa  word  Omaumeg,  were  they  called 
in  English. 

They  had  been  described  by  early  travelers  as  a 
pleasant-faced,  lively,  very  polite  people,  slow  of 
speech,  swift  of  foot,  fond  of  racing,  and  obedient  to 
their  chiefs. 

Their  present  home  was  in  the  Wabash  River  val- 
ley of  northern  Indiana,  up  as  far  as  the  modem  city 
of  Fort  Wayne.  They  claimed  this  country  and  also 
all  of  western  Ohio,  where  they  formerly  had  lived. 
The  Shawnees  and  the  Wyandots  of  Ohio  had  moved 
in  behind  them,  they  said,  and  were  merely  tenants 
upon  their  lands. 

Little  Turtle,  or  Mich-i-kin-i-kwa,  had  become  their 
chief.  He  had  been  bom  on  the  Eel  River  near  Fort 
Wayne  in  1752.  Therefore  now  at  the  close  of  the 
Revolution  he  was  thirty  years  old.  He  had  not  been 
born  a  chief,  nor  even  a  Miami.  To  be  sure,  his  father 
was  chief  and  a  Miami,  but  his  mother  was  a  Mohegan 

115 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

of  the  Delawares.  By  Indian  law  he  had  ranked  as 
only  a  warrior  and  a  Mohegan.  An  Indian  was  known 
by  his  mother. 

As  a  boy  of  eleven  or  twelve  he  had  been  stirred  by 
the  Pontiac  war,  in  which  the  Miamis  had  joined.  As 
a  warrior  he  had  campaigned  with  the  British  under 
General  Burgoyne  who  surrendered  at  Saratoga. 

So  by  his  deeds  and  his  experience  in  field,  camp  and 
council  he  was  a  veteran  and  had  won  the  chieftain- 
ship of  the  twelve  hundred  Miamis. 

Although  his  name  was  Little  Turtle,  he  had  nothing 
little  in  his  make-up.  On  the  contrary,  he  was  of  good 
size,  strong  and  dignified,  with  a  long  face  and  full 
high  forehead — ^not  the  face  or  forehead  of  a  Miami. 
He  seems  to  have  been  rather  sarcastic,  and  unpopu- 
lar. 

Those  were  bloody  days  while  the  new  United  States 
was  trying  to  extend  across  the  Ohio  River.  A  treaty 
was  made  w^ith  the  Oherokees  and  Ghickasaws  of  the 
South,  and  with  the  Six  Nations  of  the  North ;  one  was 
supposed  to  have  been  made  with  these  Ohio  country 
tribes,  also. 

These  Indians  said  that  they  would  do  nothing  for 
peace  until  they  had  talked  with  their  British  **father" 
at  Detroit.  They  were  not  sure  that  the  king  had 
really  surrendered  their  lands  beyond  the  Ohio. 

They  asserted  that  their  treaty,  by  which  they  had 
sold  their  lands,  had  not  been  signed  by  the  proper 
chiefs. 

In  the  seven  years  since  the  end  of  1782,  some  two 
thousand  American  settlers  and  traders  had  been  killed 

116 


LITTLE  TURTLE  OF  THE  MIAMIS 

or  captured,  along  the  Ohio  River;  twenty  thousand 
horses  had  been  stolen.  The  rifle  was  more  necessary 
than  the  ax  and  plough. 

The  Miami  villages  on  the  northern  border  between 
Ohio  and  Indiana  formed  the  base  for  the  many  war 
parties. 

So  in  1790,  President  George  Washington  and  Con- 
gress ordered  General  Arthur  Saint  Clair,  the  gover- 
nor of  this  Northwest  Territory,  to  clear  the  land  for 
the  smoke  of  the  white  cabins. 

Little  progress  had  been  made  by  the  white  settle- 
ments, across  the  Ohio  River.  There  were  only  two 
of  any  note:  Marietta,  named  for  the  French  queen 
Marie  Antoinette ;  and  the  newer  Cincinnati,  christened 
in  1790  by  Governor  Saint  Clair  himself.  There  were 
several  smaller  ones,  struggling  to  live. 

The  governor  called  for  regulars  and  militia.  Gen- 
eral Josiah  Harmar,  the  commander-in-chief  of  the 
United  States  army,  was  detailed  in  charge.  On  Oc- 
tober 3  he  started  from  Fort  Washington,  at  Cin- 
cinnati, with  three  hundred  and  twenty  regulars  of  the 
First  Infantry,  and  eleven  hundred  and  thirty-three 
militia  of  Kentucky  and  Pennsylvania,  to  destroy  the 
towns  of  Little  Turtle  the  Miami. 

Little  Turtle  of  course  soon  knew  all  about  this. 
His  spies  infested  the  region.  He  rallied  his  bands. 
The  Indians  whom  he  commanded — Ottawas,  Pota- 
watomis,  Chippewas,  Shawnees,  Senecas,  Delawares, 
Miamis,  and  so  forth — ^were  the  same  nations  that  had 
obeyed  the  Bloody  Belt  of  Pontiac.  He  had  able  aides, 
too;  the  skilled  Buc-kon-ga-he-las  of  the  Delawares, 

117 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

Blue-jacket  of  the  Sliawnees,  and  others — great  fight- 
ers, every  one. 

White  men,  also,  were  helping  him.  There  were 
three,  especially:  Simon  Girty,  Matthew  Elliott,  and 
Alexander  McKee,  who  was  part  Indian.  They  were 
three  traitors  who  had  deserted  from  the  American 
garrison  at  Fort  Pitt,  in  1778,  and  had  spread  false 
reports  among  White-eyes'  Delawares,  and  elsewhere. 

Serving  the  enemies  of  their  country,  they  had  con- 
tinued to  live  among  the  Shawnees  and  Wyandots,  and 
in  their  savagery  were  worse  than  the  Indians.  Their 
names  are  red  on  the  pages  of  history. 

In  Chief  Little  Turtle's  main  village,  sometimes 
called  ** Girty 's  Town,"  located  a  few  miles  southeast 
of  present  Fort  Wayne,  Indiana,  there  was  another 
white  man — a  young  man.  His  name  had  been  W^il- 
liam  Wells,  but  now  was  Black  Snake.  The  Indians 
had  captured  him  when  a  little  boy  in  Kentucky;  he 
had  grown  up  with  the  Miamis,  had  married  Chief 
Little  Turtle's  sister,  and  was  rated  as  a  Miami  war- 
rior.   But  his  heart  was  not  bad. 

General  Josiah  Harmar,  commander-in-chief  of  the 
United  States  army,  was  a  year  younger  than  Chief 
Little  Turtle,  commander-in-chief  of  the  Indian  army. 
They  both  were  veterans  of  the  Revolution,  had  good 
fighters  under  them,  and  might  be  thought  well 
matched.    But  the  general  got  threshed. 

Little  Turtle  waited  for  him  to  come  on,  and  plagued 
his  march  with  parties  of  scouts  who  in  the  swamps 
and  thickets  cut  off  his  foraging  squads. 

The  general  had  tough  going,  for  two  weeks.    When 

118 


LITTLE  TURTLE  OF  THE  MIAMIS 

on  October  17  he  arrived  at  Girty's  Town,  he  found  it 
abandoned  and  burning,  to  deprive  him  of  more  sup- 
plies. 

Then  General  Harmar  made  his  first  mistake.  He 
detached  thirty  of  the  First  Infantry  regulars,  under 
Captain  John  Armstrong,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  of 
the  militia,  under  Colonel  John  Hardin  of  Kentucky, 
to  follow  the  retreating  Indians  and  perhaps  destroy 
the  next  village. 

He  played  into  the  hands  of  Little  Turtle,  who  had 
over  a  thousand  warriors.  Colonel  Hardin  and  Cap- 
tain Armstrong  had  marched  scarcely  six  miles,  when 
in  an  open  place  they  were  completely  ambushed.  A 
swarm  of  Indians  suddenly  poured  in  a  heavy  fire  from 
the  brush  on  all  sides;  rose,  and  charged  with  toma- 
hawk and  knife. 

This  was  too  much  for  the  militia,  who  were  poorly 
drilled.  Away  they  pelted,  trying  to  reach  the  main 
army.  But  the  well-drilled  regulars  stood  stanch,  and 
met  the  tomahawk  with  the  bayonet,  in  the  hope  of 
forcing  a  passage. 

The  Little  Turtle  warriors  cared  nothing  about  the 
militia,  and  let  them  go.  The  few  regulars  did  not  last 
long.  Every  soldier  except  two  officers  and  two  pri- 
vates was  killed. 

Of  these  two  officers,  in  the  break-up  Ensign  Asa 
Hartshome  of  Connecticut  fortunately  stumbled  over 
a  log  and  lay  concealed  until  he  might  escape. 

Captain  Armstrong  crouched  to  his  neck  in  a 
swampy  pond,  and  stayed  there  all  night,  while  only 
two  hundred  yards  from  him  the  enemy  held  a  war- 

119 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

dance  over  the  bodies  of  the  slain.  They  had  whipped 
the  trained  soldiery,  who  had  fought  bravely. 

The  next  day,  with  all  his  army  General  Harmar 
advanced  upon  the  Miami  towns.  Little  Turtle  had  or- 
dered them  burned.  The  general  destroyed  the  corn- 
fields and  the  fruit-trees;  and  seeing  no  Indians  to 
fight,  turned  back  for  Fort  Washington. 

He  had  gone  about  ten  miles,  when  scouts  brought 
word  that  the  Indians  were  gathering  in  their  towns 
again.  The  general  made  a  second  mistake.  Colonel 
Hardin,  stung  by  the  way  in  which  his  militia  had 
acted,  begged  for  another  chance.  Instead  of  going, 
himself,  General  Harmar  again  detached  some  of  the 
militia — six  hundred  this  time — and  sixty  of  the  regu- 
lars under  Major  John  P.  Wyllys  of  Washington's  old 
Continentals.  He  told  Colonel  Hardin  to  find  the  In- 
dians. 

The  colonel  found  them,  on  the  morning  of  October 
22.  His  only  fear  had  been  that  they  would  run  off 
and  not  give  him  his  revenge.  But  he  had  not  counted 
the  strategy  of  Little  Turtle. 

When  the  first  few  Indians  were  sighted.  Colonel 
Hardin  made  careful  and  scientific  preparation.  He 
attacked.  The  Indians  did  run  off,  with  the  happy, 
shouting  militia  in  full  hue  and  cry  after.  The  regu- 
lars followed  slowly.  When  a  gap  of  two  miles  had 
opened,  as  if  from  the  very  earth  out  sprang  Little 
Turtle's  whole  remaining  force,  a  thousand,  and  the 
hapless  regulars  were  in  the  same  plight  as  before. 

The  militia  fought  their  way  back,  too  late.  The 
battle  on  the  field  had  become  hand-to-hand.    Both 

120 


LITTLE  TURTLE  OF  THE  MIAMIS 

sides  were  brave;  but  when  a  soldier  thrust  with  his 
bayonet,  two  tomahawks  were  there,  to  crash  into  his 
skull. 

Major  Wyllys  was  killed;  so  was  Lieutenant  Ebe- 
nezer  Frothingham ;  fifty  of  the  rank  and  file  fell. 
Only  eight  men  escaped.  Of  the  militia,  a  major,  two 
captains,  and  over  ninety  others  died. 

After  he  had  been  joined  by  the  survivors.  General 
Harmar  resumed  his  march  to  Fort  Washington.  He 
claimed  a  victory,  because  he  had  destroyed  the  In- 
dians' winter  supplies;  but  he  had  lost  one  hundred 
and  eighty-three  soldiers  killed,  and  forty  wounded, 
and  the  Indians  not  more  than  fifty  warriors. 

The  victory  and  the  field  of  battle  were  left  to  Little 
Turtle.  General  Harmar  had  proved  to  be  a  com- 
mander whose  orders  were  **Go''  instead  of  **Come," 
and  Colonel  Hardin  had  not  known  how  to  fight  In- 
dians. 

However,  Little  Turtle  realized  that  the  Americans 
had  other  officers,  and  that  General  Washington  was 
not  a  man  to  back  down.  There  would  be  another 
army. 

So  he  spent  much  of  the  winter  in  visiting  various 
tribes  and  enlisting  them.  He  went  as  far  north  as 
Ontario  of  Canada,  and  there  appealed  to  the  Missi- 
sauga  nation  of  Algonquins.  He  traveled  west  to  the 
Illinois  Eiver.    He  was  a  second  Pontiac. 

General  and  Governor  Saint  Clair  himself  was  the 
officer  appointed  by  President  Washington  to  lead  the 
next  expedition  against  the  Little  Turtle  army.  He 
was  a  gallant  old  Continental,  aged  fifty-seven  and 

121 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

gray-haired.  As  a  young  officer  in  a  Scotch  regiment 
he  had  come  over  to  America  with  a  British  army,  in 
1758,  to  fight  the  French  and  Indians.  After  that  war 
he  had  become  a  true  American  citizen  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  as  colonel  and  major-general  had  served 
with  the  Buff-and-Blue  in  the  war  for  American  inde- 
pendence. 

He  had  been  unlucky  in  his  campaigns,  but  nobody 
ever  doubted  his  courage.  General  Washington 
thought  highly  of  him,  and  now  took  pains  to  say,  in 
person,  to  him,  before  the  start  was  made: 

**  Beware  of  a  surprise.  You  know  how  the  Indians 
fight.     So  I  repeat — beware  of  a  surprise.'* 

General  Saint  Clair  had  been  promised  three  thou- 
sand men,  but  when  early  in  September  of  this  year 
1791  he  left  Fort  Washington,  he  had  only  two  thou- 
sand men.  Still,  it  was  a  strong  army,  comprising  the 
greater  portion  of  the  whole  army  of  the  United  States. 
There  were  the  First  and  Second  Infantry,  half  a 
battalion  (two  companies)  of  the  regular  artillery,  a 
company  of  mounted  riflemen  volunteers,  and  six  hun- 
dred Kentucky  militia. 

Major-General  Eichard  Butler  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
of  the  Continental  army  in  the  Revolution,  was  field 
officer  in  command ;  and  a  number  of  the  other  officers 
had  been  trained  under  Washington.  But  the  Second 
Eegiment  was  new,  the  last  spring,  and  largely  of  re- 
cruits; and  the  Kentucky  militia  had  not  wanted  to 
come. 

Part  of  them  deserted,  on  the  way  out.  The  First 
Eegiment  was  sent  to  catch  them.    This  left  fourteen 

122 


LITTLE  TURTLE  OF  THE  MIAMIS 

hundred  men,  to  marcJi  on  into  the  Indian  country. 
General  Saint  Clair  was  so  crippled  with  the  rheuma- 
tism and  the  gout  that  he  could  scarcely  mount  a  horse. 

Twenty  miles  north  of  Fort  Washington  he  halted 
long  enough  to  erect  Fort  Hamilton — Hamilton,  Ohio ; 
twenty  miles  farther  he  erected  Fort  Saint  Clair ;  and 
twenty  miles  farther,  Fort  Jefferson,  near  the  present 
city  of  Greenville,  Ohio. 

He  was  following  up  along  the  Indiana-Ohio  line, 
to  strike  the  Miami  villages.  By  the  night  of  Novem- 
ber 3  he  had  arrived  within  about  fifty  miles  of  Lit- 
tle Turtle  ^s  principal  town.  The  place  on  the  modern 
map  is  Fort  Recovery,  northern  Ohio,  close  to  Indiana. 

Little  Turtle  was  ready.  He  had  twelve  hundred 
men.  Buckongahelas  the  Delaware,  and  Blue- jacket 
the  Shawnee  were  helping  him.  So  was  a  Missisauga 
chief  who  had  been  drilled  under  British  officers.  So 
was  Simon  Girty  the  white-Indian  savage.  So  were 
a  number  of  Canadians  and  French  half-breeds,  from 
Canada  and  from  the  Illinois  country.  And  so,  it  is 
stated,  were  several  British  officers  from  Detroit,  who 
wished  to  see  their  old  foes,  the  Continentals,  licked. 
Their  red  coats  were  noticed  in  the  battle,  next  day. 

General  Saint  Clair  was  a  good  soldier,  and  planned 
well.  He  had  planted  a  string  of  supply  depots  behind 
him.  He  had  made  a  practice  of  sounding  the  reveille 
two  hours  before  day-break,  every  morning  in  camp, 
and  keeping  the  men  at  parade  until  almost  sunrise,  to 
guard  against  a  surprise.    He  tried  to  be  thorough. 

This  afternoon  of  November  3  he  had  selected  an 
excellent  camp  ground,  from  which  a  few  Indians  had 

123 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

fled  at  Ms  approach.  It  was  high,  compact,  and  pro- 
tected by  a  creek.  He  stationed  his  main  body  in  two 
lines  about  seventy  yards  apart,  facing  in  opposite  di- 
rections. 

His  scouts  had  reported  that  the  Indians  were  col- 
lecting in  force  about  twelve  miles  distant.  His  inten- 
tion was,  to  fortify  the  camp,  so  that  the  knapsacks  and 
other  baggage  might  be  left  there ;  and  as  soon  as  the 
delayed  First  Eegiment  came  in,  to  push  right  on  and 
attack. 

Little  Turtle's  scouts  also  had  been  active.  They 
had  surveyed  the  marches  and  the  camps,  had  measured 
the  infantry,  artillery  and  cavalry — and  had  been 
alarmed  by  the  showing.  Here  was  an  old  general  and 
some  big  captains,  wise  in  the  art  of  war. 

Now  what  to  do? 

Little  Turtle  called  a  grand  council  of  all  the  chiefs, 
red  and  white.  They  debated  whether  to  attack  the 
oamp,  or  to  try  an  ambush  in  the  field.  Little  Turtle 
favored  attacking  the  camp.  An  ambush  would  be  ex- 
pected by  the  old  general,  but  an  attack  upon  a  strongly 
guarded  camp  would  not  be  expected.  A  maxim  of 
war  says :  *  *  Never  do  what  the  enemy  expects  you  to 
do." 

The  Missisauga  chief  sided  with  Little  Turtle.  He 
was  a  tall,  stout,  fierce  fellow,  very  swarthy  and  severe 
looking.  He  wore  hide  leggins  and  moccasins ;  a  long 
blue  shirt,  a  brocade  vest,  an  overcoat  instead  of  a 
blanket,  and  a  turban  studded  with  two  hundred  silver 
brooches.  In  either  ear  were  two  bangles,  twelve 
inches  long,  formed  of  silver  medals  and  quarter-dol- 

124 


LITTLE  TURTLE  OF  THE  MIAMIS 

lars;  in  his  nose  were  three  nose-jewels  of  painted 
silver. 

He  was  respectfully  listened  to  as  a  wise  captain, 
and  he  and  Little  Turtle  carried  the  day. 

*^But  the  gray-haired  general  is  always  ready  for  a 
surprise  attack.'* 

**A11  right.  Wait  until  the  hour  when  he  is  not 
ready.    Then  strike.'' 

Under  the  direction  of  Commander-in-Chief  Little 
Turtle,  in  the  darkness  this  night  the  Indian  army 
stole  forward  and  was  posted  with  as  much  skill  as 
any  white  army. 

The  Miamis  held  the  center ;  the  Wyandots,  the  Dela- 
wares  and  the  Senecas  held  the  right;  the  Ottawas, 
the  Potawatomis,  the  Shawnees,  and  others,  held  the 
left. 

They  were  ready.  They  could  hear  the  challenges 
of  the  alert  sentries,  at  the  gray-hair's  camp.  Two 
hours  before  day-break  they  heard  the  drums  beating 
the  reveille.  The  soldiers  of  the  gray-hair  were  on  the 
watch. 

The  light  in  the  east  broadened.  Securely  hidden, 
the  Little  Turtle  army  waited.  They  might  see  the 
dim  tents  of  the  militia  advance-guard,  camped  a  quar- 
ter of  a  mile  this  side  of  the  creek. 

Beyond,  where  the  main  camp  was  under  arms,  the 
smoke  of  the  fires  began  to  thicken. 

Toward  the  time  of  sunrise  the  soldiers  grew  tired  of 
standing  in  ranks.  The  dawn-hour  for  surprise  by  In- 
dians had  passed.  Trumpet  and  drum-roll  sounded 
for  *^ Break  ranks."    Having  stacked  their  guns  the 

125 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

soldiers  gladly  made  for  their  tents,  or  squatted 
around  the  breakfast  fires. 

Another  day  had  begun,  without  event. 

Little  Turtle  allowed  fifteen  minutes  or  so,  for  the 
soldiers  to  settle  and  doze.  Then  he  gave  the  signal, 
a  half  hour  before  sunrise. 

General  Saint  Clair  was  lying  sick  in  his  tent. 
There  burst  a  distant  rifle  shot;  it  was  instantly  fol- 
lowed by  a  crackling  volley,  as  from  half  a  thousand 
rifles — and  an  answering  heavier  volley  from  the  mus- 
kets of  the  militia. 

Struggling  to  don  his  blanket-coat  he  limped  out, 
his  gray  queue  ragged.  The  camp  sprang  to  arms,  for 
officers  and  men  knew  their  business;  but  here  came 
the  militia  like  a  drove  of  stampeded  cattle,  legging 
frantically  for  shelter  from  a  horde  of  whooping,  dart- 
ing Indians.  The  militia  dived  through  the  lines  of 
the  regulars,  into  the  very  center  of  the  camp,  and  for 
a  short  period  all  was  chaos. 

It  was  a  furious  fight.  Ee-forming  their  lines,  the 
regulars  stood  well.  They  checked  the  charge  by  a 
thunderous  volley  from  the  long-barreled  flint-lock 
muskets — the  same  as  used  at  Brandywine,  Princeton 
and  Yorktown. 

The  strategy  of  Little  Turtle  and  his  chiefs  was  ex- 
cellent. They  shifted  the  attack  from  point  to  point. 
They  attacked  both  lines  at  once.  They  took  advan- 
tage of  every  cover,  and  constantly  appeared  closer. 
They  killed  every  horse  and  evei^  gunner  of  the  artil- 
lery posted  in  the  center. 

Of  the  Second  Infantry,  all  the  officers  fell  except 

126 


LITTLE  TURTLE  OF  THE  MIAMIS 

two.  General  Butler  hastened  bravely  up  and  down 
tlie  one  line,  encouraging  the  troops;  General  Saint 
Clair  limped  heroically  up  and  down  the  other  line. 
Eight  bullets  pierced  his  clothing — a  lock  of  his  hair 
was  shorn  off.  General  Butler  was  shot  twice;  and 
while  he  was  sitting,  mortally  wounded,  an  Indian 
rushed  in  and  tomahawked  him. 

General  Saint  Clair  ^s  army  was  being  shot  to  pieces. 
He  ordered  bayonet  charges;  but  when  these  had 
cleared  a  little  space,  the  Indians  re-appeared,  thicker 
than  ever.  Their  fire,  it  is  recorded,  **was  tremen- 
dous. *' 

The  camp  was  entered,  and  pillaged.  Some  two 
hundred  and  fifty  women,  among  them  the  general's 
dashing  daughter,  had  come  with  the  army ;  and  these 
suffered  terribly. 

After  three  hours '  battle,  the  general  ordered  a  final 
charge,  to  open  a  way.  Pressing  behind  the  bayonets, 
the  weary  troops  commenced  a  retreat  of  twenty-nine 
miles  to  Fort  Jefferson. 

The  general,  on  a  poor  pack-horse,  insisted  on  bring- 
ing up  the  rear.  Out  of  his  less  than  fourteen  hundred 
soldiers,  thirty-eight  officers  and  six  hundred  men  were 
killed  or  missing;  twenty-one  officers  and  two  hundred 
and  forty- two  men  were  wounded.  Fifty  of  the  women 
had  died.  It  was  as  bad  as  the  defeat  of  General 
Braddock's  army,  in  1755.  For  a  year  and  a  half  the 
field  was  covered  with  bleaching  bones. 

Little  Turtle,  the  Missisauga  chief  and  Simon  Girty 
the  white  savage  had  directed  the  attack.  After  a 
pursuit  of  four  miles,  seeing  that  the  soldiers  were  on 

127 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

the  run  and  throwing  away  guns,  knapsacks,  and  all, 
they  called  the  chase  off. 

It  had  been  victory  enough.  They  had  captured 
seven  pieces  of  cannon,  two  hundred  cattle,  many 
horses ;  they  returned  to  the  villages  with  one  hundred 
and  twenty  scalps  strung  on  one  pole,  and  with  three 
pack-horses  piled  high  with  kegs  of  liquor. 

Their  own  loss  was  stated  to  be  fifty-six.  Surely 
this  was  a  great  triumph  for  Commander-in-Chief  Lit- 
tle Turtle. 


128 


CHAPTER  XI 
LITTLE  TURTLE  FEARS  THE  BIG  WIND   (1792-1812) 

AND   IT  BLOWS   HIM   INTO   PEACE 

PRESIDENT  WASHINGTON  was  almost  beside 
himself  when  he  got  the  frank  report  from  Gen- 
eral Saint  Clair.  Another  American  army — as  good  a 
selection  as  had  opposed  the  British  themselves  in 
many  a  battle  of  the  Revolution — ^had  been  fairly  out- 
witted and  fairly  defeated,  by  Indians. 

General  Anthony  Wayne  was  appointed  to  try  next. 
**Mad  Anthony,"  soldiers  and  citizens  had  styled  him, 
because  of  his  head-long  valor  in  the  Revolution.  He 
was  a  good  man  for  the  job,  if  he  did  not  act  too  fast 
and  get  ambushed. 

He  took  his  time.  The  army  of  the  United  States 
was  reorganized  into  the  Legion  of  the  United  States. 
He  was  placed  in  command. 

There  were  four  Sub-legions,  or  corps,  each  com- 
posed of  artillery,  dragoons,  infantry  and  riflemen.. 
The  enlisted  men  wore  round  caps  like  helmets. 

The  badge  of  the  First  Sub-legion  was  white  bindings 
with  short  plumes  of  white  wool  and  black  horse-hair. 

The  badge  of  the  Second  Sub-legion  was  red  binding^ 
with  short  plumes  of  red  wool  and  white  horse-hair. 

The  badge  of  the  Third  Sub-legion  was  yellow  bind- 
ing, with  yellow  wool  and  black  horse-hair. 

129 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

The  badge  of  the  Fourth  Sub-legion  was  green  bind- 
ing, with  green  wool  and  white  horse-hair. 

*^  Another  defeat  will  be  ruinous  to  the  reputation  of 
the  United  States,''  had  said  President  Washington. 
With  this  in  mind,  General  Wayne  declared  for  drill- 
ing his  troops  hard,  at  Legionville,  below  Pittsburg. 
Infantry,  artillery  and  cavalry  were  kept  busy  at  target 
practice,  broad-sword  practice,  and  battle  formations. 

In  the  spring  of  1793  he  moved  down  to  Fort  Wash- 
ington at  Cincinnati.  On  August  8,  he  marched  north, 
with  two  thousand  troops  the  equal  of  any  troops  in 
the  world,  to  invade  the  country  of  the  Miamis. 

Meanwhile  there  had  been  fighting,  but  the  warriors 
of  Little  Turtle  showed  no  signs  of  letting  up.  A  mes- 
sage from  the  British  had  told  them  that  war  with  the 
United  States  was  due  this  year,  and  that  the  Indians 
were  expected  to  hold  their  ground. 

Now  the  great  warrior  **Mad  Anthony"  was  ad- 
vancing. Him,  the  Indians  much  respected.  His 
reputation  was  known.  They  had  named  him  *^  Black 
Snake, ' '  and ' '  Big  Wind  "  or  * '  Whirlwind. ' '  From  the 
methods  with  which  he  made  his  marches — ^his  men  de- 
ployed in  open  order,  his  dragoons  sweeping  the 
flanks,  his  scouts  before,  and  every  night's  camp 
pitched  early  and  surrounded  by  a  log  breast-works — 
they  saw  that  he  was  wise. 

He  established  more  forts.  He  erected  a  new  one 
near  the  site  of  Fort  Jefferson  at  Greenville,  Ohio ;  and 
spent  the  winter  there.  He  built  Fort  Recovery  on  the 
skull-dotted  field  where  General  Saint  Clair  had  been 
routed.    There  the  Wayne  men  defeated  the  Little 

130 


LITTLE  TURTLE  FEARS  THE  BIG  WIND 

Turtle  men.  The  Indians  spent  two  nights  in  carrying 
off  their  dead  and  wounded.  But  the  British  from  De- 
troit had  come  southward  and  built  another  fort  for 
themselves — Fort  Maumee — at  the  Maumee  Eiver 
Rapids,  in  northwestern  Ohio,  south  of  modern  To- 
ledo. 

That  was  a  rallying-place  for  the  allied  Indians,  and 
encouraged  them.  The  **Big  Wind"  continued,  lay- 
ing waste  the  villages  and  fields.  He  built  Fort  De- 
fiance in  the  very  heart  of  the  Miami  country,  and  pro- 
ceeded down  the  Maumee  River  toward  the  British 
fort. 

Within  seven  miles  of  the  British  fort  he  built  Fort 
Deposit.  He  had  two  thousand  Legionaries,  and  eleven 
hundred  mounted  Kentucky  riflemen;  Little  Turtle's 
army  was  being  driven  back  upon  the  British  fort,  and 
must  fight  or  quit. 

So  far,  the  **Big  Wind"  had  proved  himself  the 
master. 

By  this  time  Little  Turtle  had  lost  his  brother-in- 
law,  ** Black  Snake"  or  William  Wells,  whose  blood 
was  the  white  blood,  and  who  could  no  longer  fire  upon 
his  race. 

When  he  had  heard  that  another  American  army  was 
on  its  way,  he  had  led  Little  Turtle  apart. 

**I  now  leave  your  nation  for  my  own  people,"  he 
had  said.  **We  have  been  friends.  We  are  friends 
yet  until  the  sun  is  an  hour  higher.  From  that  time 
we  are  enemies.  Then  if  you  wish  to  kill  me,  you  may. 
If  I  want  to  kill  you,  I  may." 

William  Wells  plunged  into  the  forest,  and  found 

131 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

General  Wayne.  He  became  a  valuable  scout  with  the 
United  States  column. 

From  Fort  Deposit  General  Wayne  sent  word  to  the 
Miamis  that  they  must  make  peace  at  once,  or  be  at- 
tacked. Little  Turtle  called  a  council.  Some  of  his 
men  were  dubious. 

**It  is  no  use  fighting  that  man.  His  eye  is  never 
shut/'  they  complained. 

Little  Turtle  himself  was  dubious.  The  council  de- 
bated upon  whether  to  try  another  *  *  Saint  Clair ' '  sur- 
prise, or  to  choose  their  ground,  and  wait. 

Blue-jacket  the  Shawnee  was  for  fighting. 

** Listen,"  spoke  Little  Turtle.  **We  have  beaten 
the  enemy  twice,  under  separate  generals.  We  cannot 
expect  the  same  good  fortune  always.  The  Americans 
are  led  now  by  a  chief  who  never  sleeps.  The  night 
and  the  day  are  alike  to  him.  During  all  the  time  that 
he  has  been  marching  upon  us  we  have  watched  him 
close  but  we  have  never  been  able  to  surprise  him. 
Think  well  of  it.  Something  whispers  to  me  that  we 
could  do  well  to  treat  with  him.'' 

Somebody  accused  Little  Turtle  of  being  afraid,  at 
last.  That  was  enough.  He  objected  no  more,  and  the 
council  decided  to  form  battle  array  and  wait,  at 
Presq'  Isle,  near  the  British  fort.  Blue- jacket  took 
charge. 

It  was  good  ground  for  defense.  Another  **Big 
Wind"  had  passed  through  the  timber,  and  laid  the 
trees  crisscross  in  great  confusion.  Amidst  this  maze 
Little  Turtle,  Blue-jacket,  Simon  Girty,  and  the  other 
leaders  stretched  three  lines  of  warriors  and  half- 

132 


LITTLE  TURTLE  FEARS  THE  BIG  WIND 

breeds,  in  a  front  two  miles  long.  Their  left  rested  at 
the  river,  their  right  was  protected  by  a  thicket,  the 
British  fort  was  behind  them. 

The  British  commander  had  said  that  he  would  open 
his  gates  to  them,  if  they  were  again  driven  back. 

The  **Big  Wind,*'  who  never  slept,  had  not  delayed. 
This  morning  of  August  20, 1794,  he  marched  right  on- 
ward, in  battle  array.  At  noon  he  struck  the  Fallen 
Timbers,  at  Presq'  Isle. 

Now  he  was  *  *  Mad  Anthony, ' '  again.  He  made  short 
work  of  the  Little  Turtle  army  of  fifteen  hundred.  He 
sent  his  Kentucky  mounted  riflemen  against  their  right 
flank;  he  sent  his  dragoon  regulars  against  their  left 
flank ;  he  sent  his  regular  infantry  in  a  bayonet  charge 
straight  through  their  center.  They  were  not  to  fire 
a  shot  until  the  Indians  had  broken  cover;  then  they 
were  to  deliver  a  volley  and  keep  going  so  hard  that  the 
enemy  would  have  no  time  to  reload. 

For  once.  Little  Turtle's  warriors  did  not  stand. 
They  feared  this  mad  general.  The  trained  infantry 
Legionaries  moved  so  fast  that  they  outfooted  the 
cavalry;  and  they  alone  drove  the  warriors  helter- 
skelter  back  through  the  timber,  to  the  very  walls  of 
the  British  fort. 

There  the  mounted  riflemen  and  the  dragoons  smote 
with  their  *4ong  knives,''  or  broad-swords — for  the 
gates  of  the  fort  were  not  opened,  and  the  walls  proved 
only  a  death-trap. 

The  Battle  of  Fallen  Timbers  was  over  in  about  an 
hour.  The  Americans  lost  thirty-eight  killed,  one  hun- 
dred and  one  wounded.    The  loss  of  the  Miamis  and 

133 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

their  allies  numbered  several  hundred.  Nine  Wyandot 
chiefs  had  been  slain. 

Their  warriors  were  scattered,  their  villages  and 
corn-fields  were  destroyed,  the  British  had  not  helped 
them,  United  States  forts  occupied  their  best  ground 
from  the  Ohio  River  right  through  north  to  Lake  Erie, 
and  the  long  war  had  ended. 

The  Miamis  and  eleven  other  nations  signed  a  treaty 
of  peace,  at  Greenville,  in  August  of  tlie  next  year, 
1795. 

**I  am  the  last  to  sign,"  said  Little  Turtle,  *^and  I 
think  I  will  be  the  last  to  break  it.'' 

Ever  after  this,  Little  Turtle  lived  at  peace  with  the 
Americans. 

The  United  States  built  him  a  house  on  his  birth- 
place at  the  Eel  River  twenty  miles  from  Fort  Wayne, 
Indiana.  He  tried  to  adopt  civilization  and  bring  his 
people  to  agriculture  and  prosperity. 

He  was  opposed  by  jealous  chiefs,  who  envied  him 
his  house  and  accused  him  of  having  been  bought  by 
the  Americans.    But  he  was  wiser  than  they. 

He  had  been  the  first  of  the  great  chiefs  to  frown 
upon  the  torture  of  captives ;  give  him  a  good  mark  for 
that.  Now  he  frowned  upon  liquor.  With  Captain 
William  Wells,  his  friend,  he  appeared  before  the  Ken- 
tucky legislature,  and  asked  for  a  law  against  selling 
liquor  to  the  Indians.  In  the  winter  of  1801-1802  he 
asked  to  be  vaccinated,  at  Washington,  and  took  some 
of  the  vaccine  back  with  him,  for  his  people. 

He  frequently  visited  Philadelphia.  There  he  met 
the  famous  Polish  patriot  Kosciusko.    They  had  many 

134 


LITTLE  TURTLE  FEARS  THE  BIG  WIND 

talks.  Kosciusko  presented  him  with  a  fine  pair  of 
pistols  and  a  valuable  otter-skin  robe. 

Chief  Little  Turtle  died  July  14,  1812,  while  on  a 
visit  at  Fort  Wayne.     The  notice  in  a  newspaper  said : 

**  Perhaps  there  is  not  left  on  this  continent,  one  of 
his  color  so  distinguished  in  council  and  in  war.  His 
disorder  was  the  gout.  He  died  in  a  camp,  because  he 
chose  to  be  in  the  open  air.  He  met  death  with  great 
firmness.  The  agent  for  Indian  affairs  had  him  buried 
with  the  honors  of  war.*' 

His  portrait,  painted  by  a  celebrated  artist,  was  hung 
upon  the  walls  of  the  War  Department  at  Washington. 


135 


CHAPTER  XII 
THE  VOICE  FROM  THE  OPEN  DOOR  (1805-1811) 

HOW   IT   TEAVELED   THBOUGH   THE   LAND 

IN  the  battle  of  the  Fallen  Timbers,  when  General 
*^Big  Wind''  broke  the  back  of  the  Ohio  nations, 
two  young  warriors  f  onght  against  each  other. 

One  was  Lieutenant  William  Henry  Harrison,  aged 
twenty-one,  of  the  Americans.  The  other  was  Sub- 
ohief  Tecumseh,  aged  twenty-six,  of  the  Shawnees. 

They  were  the  sons  of  noted  fathers.  Benjamin  Har- 
rison, the  father  of  Lieutenant  Harrison,  had  been  a 
famous  patriot  and  a  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence in  1776.  Puck-ee-shin-wah,  the  father  of  Te- 
cumseh, also  had  been  a  patriot — ^he  had  died  for  his 
nation  in  the  battle  of  Point  Pleasant,  in  1774,  when 
Chief  Cornstalk  fought  for  liberty. 

At  the  Fallen  Timbers,  Lieutenant  Harrison  was  an 
aide  to  General  Wayne ;  young  Tecumseh  was  an  aide 
to  Blue-jacket.  The  two  did  not  meet,  but  their  trails 
were  soon  to  join. 

The  name  Tecumseh  (pronounced  by  the  Indians 
**Tay-coom-tha")  means  *  *  One-who-springs "  or 
*  *  darts. ' '  It  was  a  word  of  the  Shawnees '  Great  Medi- 
cine Panther  clan,  or  Meteor  clan ;  therefore  Tecumseh 
has  been  known  as  ** Crouching  Panther''  and  ** Shoot- 
ing Star." 

136 


THE  VOICE  FROM  THE  OPEN  DOOR 

He  was  born  in  1768  at  the  old  Shawnee  village  of 
Piqua,  on  Mad  Eiver  about  six  miles  southwest  of 
present  Springfield,  Ohio.  His  mother  may  have  been 
a  Creek  or  Cherokee  woman,  who  had  come  up  from 
the  South  with  some  of  the  Shawnees.  The  Shawnees 
were  a  Southern  people,  once.  The  mother's  name  was 
Me-tho-a-tas-ke. 

Tecumseh  had  five  brothers  and  one  sister.  Two  of 
his  brothers  were  twins,  and  at  least  two,  besides  his 
father,  fell  in  battle  while  he  was  still  young. 

He  had  not  been  old  enough  to  go  upon  the  war  trail 
with  his  father  and  Head  Chief  Cornstalk ;  but  his  elder 
brother  Chee-see-kau  went,  and  fought  the  Long 
Knives  at  Point  Pleasant.  When  he  came  back  he  took 
little  Tecumseh  in  charge,  to  train  him  as  a  warrior. 

When  Tecumseh  was  nineteen,  he  and  Ohee-see-kau, 
with  a  party  of  other  braves,  went  upon  a  long  journey 
of  adventure  south  to  the  Cherokee  country  of  Tennes- 
see. It  is  said  that  the  mother,  Me-tho-a4as-ke,  al- 
ready had  left,  to  return  to  the  Cherokees.  Likely 
enough  the  two  brothers  planned  to  visit  her. 

They  swung  far  into  the  west,  to  the  Mississippi,  and 
circled  to  the  Cherokees.  Here  Ohee-see-kau  was 
killed,  while  helping  the  Cherokees  fight  the  whites. 

He  was  glad  to  die  in  battle — **I  prefer  to  have  the 
birds  pick  my  bones,  rather  than  to  be  buried  at  home 
like  an  old  squaw." 

Tecumseh  stayed  in  the  South  three  years,  fighting 
to  avenge  his  brother,  who  had  been  a  father  to  him, 
and  whose  spirit  still  urged  him  to  be  brave.  He  got 
home  to  Ohio  just  in  time.    In  league  with  the  Little 

137 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

Turtle  Miamis,  War  Chief  Blue-jacket's  Shawnees  had 
defeated  the  American  general  Harmar,  and  every 
warrior  was  needed. 

Tecumseh  had  left  as  a  young  brave ;  he  returned  as 
a  young  chief.  He  was  sent  out  with  a  party  to  spy 
upon  the  march  of  the  gray-haired  general,  Saint  Clair. 
He  did  good  work,  but  he  missed  the  big  battle.  But  he 
was  at  the  Fallen  Timbers. 

Here,  in  the  excitement  when  the  American  infantry 
came  scrambling  and  cheering  and  stabbing,  through 
the  down  trees,  he  rammed  a  bullet  into  his  rifle  ahead 
of  the  powder,  and  had  to  retreat. 

**Give  me  a  gun  and  I  will  show  you  how  to  stand 
fast,''  he  appealed,  to  the  other  Indians.  He  was 
given  a  shot-gun.  The  white  soldiers  were  too  strong, 
his  younger  brother  Sau-wa-see-kau  was  killed  at  his 
side,  and  he  must  fall  back  again. 

This  hurt  his  heart.  When  the  treaty  with  General 
Wayne  was  signed,  the  next  year,  he  did  not  attend. 
Blue- jacket,  his  chief,  afterwards  sought  him  out  and 
told  him  all  about  it :  that  the  Indians  had  surrendered 
much  land. 

For  some  years  the  peace  sun  shone  upon  the  Ohio 
country.  Tecumseh  was  careful  to  cast  no  red  shadow. 
He  bore  himself  like  an  independent  chief;  gathered 
his  own  band  of  Shawnees,  married  a  woman  older 
than  himself,  lived  among  the  Delawares,  and  spent 
much  time  hunting.  He  became  known  for  his  ringing 
speeches,  in  the  councils ;  no  Indian  was  more  eloquent. 

He  was  handsome,  too — a  true  prince:  six  feet  tall 
and  broad  shouldered^  of  active  and  haughty  mien, 

138 


THE  VOICE  FROM  THE  OPEN  DOOR 

quick  step,  large  flashing  eyes,  and  thin,  oval  Indian 
face,  with  regular  features.  His  face  was  the  kind 
that  could  burn  with  the  fire  of  his  mind. 

In  1800  the  Northwest  Territory  of  which  General 
Saint  Clair  had  been  the  first  governor  was  divided. 
The  name  Northwest  Territory  was  limited  to  about 
what  is  now  the  state  of  Ohio ;  all  west  of  that,  to  the 
Mississippi  Eiver,  was  Indiana  Territory. 

Captain  William  Henry  Harrison,  who  had  resigned 
from  the  army,  was  appointed  governor  and  Indian 
commissioner,  of  Indiana  Territory.  He  moved  to 
Vincennes,  the  capital,  on  the  lower  Wabash.  Chief 
Tecumseh  was  living  eastward  on  the  White  River. 
Their  trails  were  pointing  in.  Two  master  minds  were 
to  meet  and  wrestle. 

The  name  of  one  of  the  two  twins,  brothers  of  Te- 
cumseh, was  La-la-we-thi-ka,  meaning  ** Rattle''  or 
** Loud  Voice."  He  was  not  handsome.  He  was  blind 
in  the  right  eye  and  had  ugly  features.  He  was  looked 
upon  as  a  mouthy,  shallow-brained,  drunken  fellow,  of 
little  account  as  a  warrior.  His  band  invited  Tecum- 
seh's  band  to  unite  with  them  at  Greenville,  in  western 
Ohio  where  General  Saint  Clair's  Fort  Jefferson  and 
General  Wayne 's  Fort  Greenville  had  been  built. 

Then,  almost  immediately,  or  in  the  fall  of  1805, 
**Loud  Voice"  arose  as  the  Prophet. 

While  smoking  his  pipe  in  his  cabin  he  fell  backward 
in  a  pretended  trance,  and  lay  as  if  dead.  But  before 
he  was  buried,  he  recovered.  He  said  that  he  had 
been  to  the  spirit  world.  He  called  all  the  nation  to 
meet  him  at  Wapakoneta,  the  ancient  principal  village 

139 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

of  the  Shawnees,  fifty  miles  northeast,  and  listen  to  a 
message  from  the  Master  of  Life. 

The  message  was  a  very  good  one.  It  was  a  great 
deal  like  the  message  of  the  Delaware  prophet,  as  used 
by  Pontiac.  The  Indians  were  to  cease  white-man 
habits.  They  must  quit  fire-water  poison,  must  cherish 
the  old  and  sick,  must  not  marry  with  the  white  people, 
must  cease  bad  medicine-making  (witch-craft)  and  tor- 
tures; and  must  live  happily  and  peacefully,  sharing 
their  lands  in  common. 

As  for  him,  he  had  been  given  power  to  cure  all  dis- 
eases, and  to  ward  off  death  on  the  battle-field. 

He  changed  his  name  to  Ten-skwa-ta-wa — the  *  *  Open 
Door,*'  but  is  generally  styled  the  Prophet.  His 
words  created  intense  excitement.  Shawnees,  Dela- 
wares  and  other  Indians  came  from  near  and  far  to 
visit  him.  Tecumseh  was  very  willing.  It  was  a  great 
thing  to  have  a  prophet  for  a  brother — and  whether  this 
was  a  put-up  job  between  them,  is  to  this  day  a  mys- 
tery.   But  they  were  smart  men. 

The  Prophet  enlarged  his  rant.  To  the  whites  he 
proclaimed  that  he,  the  Open  Door,  Tecumseh,  the 
Shooting  Star,  and  the  other  twin  brother  all  had  come 
at  one  birth.  He  asserted  that  their  father  had  been 
the  son  of  a  Shawnee  chief  and  a  princess,  daughter  of 
a  great  English  governor  in  the  South. 

Anybody  whom  he  accused  of  witch-craft  was  put  to 
death.  They  usually  were  persons  that  he  did  not  like. 
The  Delawares  and  Shawnees  killed  old  chiefs  who 
were  harmless,  and  friends  of  the  settlers. 

Although  the  Open  Door's  teachings  seemed  to  be  for 

140 


THE  VOICE  FROM  THE  OPEN  DOOR 

peace  and  prosperity  among  the  Indians,  they  brought 
many  Indians  together,  and  aroused  much  alarm  among 
the  settlers  of  Ohio  and  Indiana  Territory.  Moreover, 
the  gatherings  at  Greenville  were  upon  ground  that  had 
been  sold  to  the  United  States,  under  the  treaty  after 
the  battle  of  the  Fallen  Timbers. 

Governor  Harrison  sent  a  message  to  the  Delawares, 
in  the  name  of  the  Seventeen  Fires — ^the  United  States. 

*'^Vho  is  this  pretended  prophet  who  dares  to  speak 
for  the  great  Creator?  If  he  is  really  a  prophet,  ask 
of  him  to  cause  the  sun  to  stand  still,  the  moon  to  alter 
its  course,  the  rivers  to  cease  to  flow,  or  the  dead  to 
rise  from  their  graves!'' 

And— 

*' Drive  him  from  your  town,  and  let  peace  and  har- 
mony prevail  amongst  you.  Let  your  poor  old  men 
and  women  sleep  in  quietness,  and  banish  from  their 
minds  the  dreadful  idea  of  being  burnt  alive  by  their 
own  friends  and  countrymen." 

The  Delawares  listened,  even  the  Shawnees  were 
sickening  of  the  witch-craft  fraud — ^bnt  the  Prophet 
seized  upon  an  opportunity. 

In  this  1806  an  eclipse  of  the  sun  was  due,  and  he 
knew,  beforehand.  Perhaps  he  was  told  by  British 
agents,  for  the  war  of  1812  was  looming,  and  there  was 
bad  feeling  between  the  two  white  nations. 

**The  American  governor  has  demanded  of  me  a 
sign, ' '  he  proclaimed.  * '  On  a  certain  day  I  will  darken 
the  snn." 

And  so  he  did. 

His  fame  spread  like  a  wind.    Eunners  carried  the 

141 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

news  of  him  and  of  his  power  through  tribe  after 
tribe.  He  made  long  journeys,  himself.  In  village 
after  village,  from  the  Seminoles  of  Florida  to  the 
Chippewas  of  the  Canada  border,  from  the  Mingos  of 
the  Ohio  River  to  the  Blackfeet  of  the  farthest  upper 
Missouri,  either  he  or  some  of  his  disciples  appeared. 

They  bore  with  them  a  mystic  figure,  the  size  of  the 
body  of  a  man,  all  wrapped  in  white  cloth  and  never 
opened.  This  they  tended  carefully.  They  bore  with 
them  a  string  of  white  beans,  said  to  be  made  from  the 
Prophet's  flesh. 

They  preached  that  dogs  were  to  be  killed;  lodge 
fires  were  never  to  go  out ;  liquor  was  not  to  be  drunk ; 
wars  were  not  to  be  waged,  unless  ordered  by  the 
Prophet.  Each  warrior  was  obliged  to  draw  the 
string  of  beads  through  his  fingers ;  by  this,  he  ^  ^  shook 
hands"  with  the  Prophet,  and  swore  to  obey  his  teach- 
ings. 

It  was  rumored  that  within  four  years  a  great 
** death''  would  cover  the  entire  land,  and  that  only 
the  Indians  who  followed  the  Prophet  would  escape. 
These  should  enjoy  the  land,  freed  of  the  white  men. 

Tecumseh  bowed  before  his  talented  brother,  and 
had  his  own  dreams;  dreams  of  a  vast  war  league 
against  the  Americans.  The  Prophet  was  in  control 
of  eight  or  ten  thousand  warriors. 

The  Prophet's  band  at  Greenville  increased  to  four 
hundred — Shawnees,  Delawares,  Wyandots,  Chippe- 
was, and  others;  a  regular  hodge-podge. 

Captain  William  Wells,  who  was  the  Indian  agent  at 
Fort  Wayne,  asked  them  to  have  four  chiefs  come  in,  to 

142 


THE  VOICE  FROM  THE  OPEN  DOOR 

listen  to  a  message  from  their  Great  Father,  the 
President. 

On  a  sudden  Tecumseh  took  the  lead,  as  head 
chief. 

**Go  back  to  Fort  Wayne,"  he  ordered  of  the  runner, 
a  half-breed  Shawnee,  *  *  and  tell  Captain  Wells  that  my 
fire  is  kindled  on  the  spot  appointed  by  the  Great  Spirit 
above ;  and  if  he  has  anything  to  say  to  me,  he  must 
come  here.  I  shall  expect  him  in  six  days  from  this 
time. ' ' 

Captain  Wells  then  sent  the  message.  The  Presi- 
dent asked  the  Indians  to  move  off  from  this  ground 
which  was  not  theirs.  He  would  help  them  to  select 
other  ground. 

Tecumseh  replied  hotly,  in  a  speech  of  defiance. 

**  These  lands  are  ours ;  no  one  has  a  right  to  remove 
us,  because  we  were  the  first  owners.  The  Great  Spirit 
above  knows  no  boundaries,  nor  will  his  red  people 
know  any.  If  my  father,  the  President  of  the  Seven- 
teen Fires,  has  anything  more  to  say  to  me,  he  must 
send  a  big  man  as  messenger.  I  will  not  talk  with 
Captain  Wells." 

**  Why  does  not  the  President  of  the  Seventeen  Fires 
send  us  the  greatest  man  in  his  nation?"  demanded  the 
Prophet.  * *I  can  talk  to  him ;  I  can  bring  darkness  be- 
tween him  and  me ;  I  can  put  the  sun  under  my  feet ; 
and  what  white  man  can  do  this  ? ' ' 

This  month  of  May,  1807,  fifteen  hundred  Indians 
had  visited  the  Prophet.  They  came  even  from  the 
Missouri  Eiver,  and  from  the  rivers  of  Florida.  A 
general  up-rising  of  the  tribes  was  feared. 

143 


BOYS*     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

Governor  Harrison  worked,  sending  many  addresses. 
He  could  not  stem  the  tide  set  in  motion  by  the  Prophet 
and  kept  in  motion  by  Tecumseh. 

**My  children,"  appealed  Governor  Harrison,  *^this 
business  must  be  stopped.  You  have  called  in  a  num- 
ber of  men  from  the  most  distant  people  to  listen  to  a 
fool,  who  speaks  not  the  words  of  the  Great  Spirit,  but 
those  of  the  devil  and  of  the  British  agents.  My  chil- 
dren, your  conduct  has  much  alarmed  the  white  set- 
tlers near  you.  They  desire  that  you  will  send  away 
those  people,  and  if  they  wish  to  have  the  impostor  with 
them  they  can  carry  him.  Let  him  go  to  the  Lakes ;  he 
can  hear  the  British  more  distinctly.'' 

**I  am  sorry  that  you  listen  to  the  advice  of  bad 
birds,"  answered  the  Prophet,  of  the  one  eye  and  the 
cunning  heart.  '*I  never  had  a  word  with  the  British, 
and  I  never  sent  for  any  Indians.  They  came  here 
themselves,  to  hear  the  words  of  the  Great  Spirit. ' ' 

Tecumseh  also  made  speeches,  at  the  councils.  Once 
he  spoke  for  three  hours,  accusing  the  whites  of  having 
broken  many  treaties.  Some  of  his  sentences  the  in- 
terpreter refused  to  translate,  they  were  so  frank  and 
cutting.  The  teachings  of  the  Prophet  his  brother 
were  apparently  all  for  peace,  and  against  evil  prac- 
tices such  as  drinking  and  warring ;  and  Governor  Har- 
rison could  only  wait,  watchfully.  But  he  did  not  like 
the  signs  in  the  horizon.  There  were  too  many  Indians 
traveling  back  and  forth. 

The  war  of  1812  with  Great  Britain  was  drawing 
nearer.  The  Sacs  and  Foxes  of  the  Mississippi  coun- 
try had  accepted  presents  from  the  British.    Governor 

144 


THE  VOICE  FROM  THE  OPEN  DOOR 

Harrison  was  warned  that  the  Prophet  and  Tecumseh 
had  been  asked  to  join. 

In  the  summer  of  1808  the  Prophet  moved  his  town 
to  the  north  bank  of  the  Tippecanoe  River,  on  the  curve 
where  it  enters  the  upper  Wabash  River  in  northern 
Indiana.  He  still  had  a  following  of  Shawnees,  Chip- 
pewas,  Potawatomis,  Winnebagos,  and  so  forth. 

This  was  Miami  land,  shared  by  the  Delawares. 
They  objected.    But  the  Prophet's  Town  remained. 

In  1809  the  United  States  bought  from  the  Miamis  a 
large  piece  of  territory  which  included  this  land.  The 
Prophet's  people  refused  to  move  off.  The  Great 
Spirit  had  told  them  that  the  Indians  were  to  hold  all 
property  in  common ;  therefore  no  tribe  might  sell  land 
without  the  consent  of  all  the  tribes. 

Tecumseh  was  absent,  on  a  visit  to  other  tribes.  He 
asked  the  Wyandots  and  the  Senecas  to  come  to 
Prophet's  Town  on  the  Tippecanoe.  But  the  Wyan- 
dots and  the  Senecas  had  no  wish  to  offend  the  United 
States  again.  They  remembered  that  the  British  had 
not  opened  the  gates  of  the  fort  to  them,  when  the  **Big 
Wind ' '  was  blowing  them  backward — *  *  You  are  painted 
too  much,  my  children,"  they  accused  the  British  of 
saying — and  they  were  wary  of  Tecumseh. 

He  asked  the  Shawnees  of  the  upper  country,  also,  to 
join  him  and  the  Prophet.  But  they  declined  to  med- 
dle. Old  Black  Hoof,  a  chief  whose  memory  extended 
back  ninety  years,  advised  against  it. 

The  Prophet  was  more  clever  than  Tecumseh.  The 
Wyandots  were  the  keepers  of  the  great  belt  which  had 
bound  the  Ohio  nations  together  in  Little  Turtle 's  day. 

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BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

The  Prophet  asked  them  if  they  still  had  it,  and  if 
they,  the  ** elder  brothers,"  would  sit  still  while  a  few 
Indians  sold  the  land  of  all  the  Indians. 

They  replied  they  were  glad  to  know  that  the  belt 
had  not  been  forgotten.  Let  the  Indians  act  as  one 
nation.  They  passed  the  belt  to  the  Miamis — and  the 
Miamis  were  forced  to  obey. 

Governor  Harrison  was  told  that  there  were  eight 
hundred  warriors  at  the  Prophet's  Town,  and  that 
Vincennes  was  to  be  attacked. 

News  of  Tecumseh  came  from  here,  there,  every- 
where. He  seemed  to  be  constantly  traveling,  carrying 
the  words  of  the  Prophet  his  brother.  Something  was 
going  on,  underneath  the  peace  blanket.  Governor 
Harrison  and  others  of  the  whites  read  the  puzzle  in 
this  wise : 

The  peace  blanket  spread  by  the  Prophet  to  cover 
all  red  nations  and  make  them  one,  concealed  a  hatchet, 
as  the  blanket  of  Pontiac  concealed  a  gun.  The  In- 
dians were  to  be  increased  and  strengthened  by  ri^ht 
living  and  good  habits,  until  fitted  to  stand  on  their 
feet  without  aid.  Then,  all  together,  as  one  nation, 
they  could  strike  for  their  country,  from  the  Ohio 
Eiver  west  to  the  Missouri. 

Tecumseh  was  to  be  the  Pontiac  who  would  lead  them. 
It  was  a  scheme  so  wonderful,  so  patient  and  so 
shrewd,  that  the  Western  whites  might  well  gasp  be- 
fore it. 

The  governor  and  Tecumseh  had  never  met.  The 
Prophet  had  been  in  Vincennes  several  times,  to  ex- 
plain that  he  preached  only  peace — which  was  true. 

146 


THE  VOICE  FROM  THE  OPEN  DOOR 

But  the  town  at  the  Tippecanoe  was  getting  to  be  a 
nuisance.  Horse-thieves  and  murderers  used  it  as  a 
shelter,  and  the  authority  of  the  United  States  was 
defied.  A  messenger  sent  there  by  the  governor  was 
threatened  by  the  Prophet  with  death. 

The  message  was  sent  to  warn  the  brothers  that  the 
Seventeen  Fires  were  surely  able  to  defeat  all  the  In- 
dians united,  and  that  if  there  were  complaints,  these 
should  be  taken  directly  to  the  President.  Tecumseh 
replied : 

**The  Great  Spirit  gave  this  great  island  to  his  red 
children.  He  placed  the  whites  on  the  other  side  of 
the  big  water.  They  were  not  contented  with  their 
own,  but  came  to  take  ours  from  us.  They  have  driven 
us  from  the  sea  to  the  lakes;  we  can  go  no  farther. 
They  say  one  land  belongs  to  the  Miamis,  another  to  the 
Delawares,  and  so  on ;  but  the  Great  Spirit  intended  it 
as  the  property  of  us  all.  Our  father  tells  us  we  have 
no  right  upon  the  Wabash.  The  Great  Spirit  ordered 
us  to  come  here,  and  here  we  will  stay. ' ' 

However,  Tecumseh  said  that  he  remembered  the 
governor  as  a  very  young  man  riding  with  General 
Wayne,  and  he  would  go  to  Vincennes  and  talk  with 
him.    He  probably  would  bring  thirty  of  his  men. 

**The  governor  may  expect  to  see  many  more  than 
that,"  added  the  Prophet. 

Tecumseh  brought  not  thirty,  but  four  hundred  war- 
riors, painted  and  armed.  Attended  by  a  small  guard, 
the  governor  stood  to  receive  him  on  the  broad  col- 
umned poroh  of  the  oflScial  mansion.  Tecumseh,  with 
forty  braves,  approached,  and  halted.    He  did  not  like 

147 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

the  porch ;  he  asked  that  the  council  be  held  in  a  grove 
near  by. 

**Your  father  says  that  he  cannot  supply  seats 
enough  there/'  answered  the  interpreter. 

**My  father  r*  retorted  Tecumseh,  his  head  high. 
**The  sun  is  my  father,  the  earth  is  my  mother,  and  on 
her  bosom  will  I  repose ! ' ' 

In  the  grove  he  made  a  ringing,  fiery  speech.  He 
accused  the  United  States  of  trying  to  divide  the  In- 
dians, so  as  to  keep  them  weak.  He  blamed  the  *  til- 
lage" or  ** peace*'  chiefs  for  yielding,  and  said  that 
now  the  war  chiefs  were  to  rule  the  tribes.  He  warned 
the  governor  that  if  the  lands  along  the  Wabash  were 
not  given  back  to  the  Indians,  the  chiefs  who  had  signed 
the  sale  would  be  killed,  and  then  the  governor  would 
be  guilty  of  the  killing.  He  threatened  trouble  for  the 
whites  if  they  did  not  cease  purchasing  Indian  land. 

**It  is  all  nonsense  to  say  that  the  Indians  are  all  one 
nation,''  reproved  Governor  Harrison,  who  was  as 
fearless  as  Tecumseh.  **If  the  Great  Spirit  had  in- 
tended that  to  be  so,  he  would  not  have  put  six  dif- 
ferent tongues  into  their  heads.  The  Miamis  owned 
these  lands  in  the  beginning,  while  the  Shawnees  were 
in  Georgia.  You  Shawnees  have  no  right  to  come  from 
a  distant  country,  and  tell  the  Miamis  what  shall  be 
done  with  their  property. ' ' 

Tecumseh  sprang  up  and  angrily  interrupted. 

**That  is  a  lie!  You  and  the  Seventeen  Fires  are 
cheating  the  Indians  out  of  their  lands." 

The  warriors  leaped  up,  as  if  to  attack.  The  few 
whites  prepared  for  defense. 

148 


THE  VOICE  FROM  THE  OPEN  DOOR 

^*You  are  a  man  of  bad  heart,"  thundered  the  gov- 
ernor, to  Tecumseh.  **I  will  talk  with  you  no  more. 
You  may  go  in  safety,  protected  by  the  council-fire,  but 
I  want  you  to  leave  this  place  at  once. ' ' 

Other  councils  were  held.  Tecumseh  stood  as  firm 
as  a  rock,  for  what  he  considered  to  be  the  rights  of 
the  Indians.  He  was  very  frank.  He  said  that  if  it 
were  not  for  the  dispute  about  the  land,  he  would  con- 
tinue to  be  the  friend  of  the  Seventeen  Fires.  He 
would  rather  fight  with  them  than  against  them.  He 
had  no  love  for  the  British — who  clapped  their  hands 
and  sicked  the  Indians  on  as  if  they  were  dogs.  As 
for  making  the  Indians  one  nation,  had  not  the  Seven- 
teen Fires  set  an  example  when  they  united?  It  was 
true,  he  said,  that  now  all  the  Northern  tribes  were 
one.  Soon  he  was  to  set  out,  and  ask  the  Southern 
tribes  to  sit  upon  the  same  blanket  with  the  Northern 
tribes. 

The  governor  knew.  From  Governor  William  Clark 
of  Missouri  he  had  received  a  letter  telling  him  that 
friendship  belts  and  war  belts  were  passing  among  the 
nations  west  of  the  Missouri  Eiver,  calling  them  to  an 
attack  on  Vincennes.  The  Sacs  of  the  upper  Missis- 
sippi had  sent  to  Canada  for  ammunition. 

From  Chicago  had  come  word  that  the  Potawatomis 
and  other  tribes  near  Fort  Dearborn  were  preparing. 

Governor  Harrison  had  suggested  that  the  two 
brothers  travel  to  "Washington  and  talk  with  the  Presi- 
dent about  lands.  He  himself  had  no  power  to  promise 
that  treaties  should  not  be  made  with  separate  na- 
tions.   He  also  said,  to  Tecumseh : 

149 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

*^If  there  is  war  between  us,  I  ask  you  to  stop  your 
Indians  from  abusing  captives,  and  from  attacking 
women  and  children. '* 

Tecumseh  promised,  but  he  went  out  upon  his  trip. 
Before  he  left,  he  asked  that  nothing  should  be  done  re- 
garding the  land,  before  he  came  back ;  a  large  number 
of  Indians  were  on  the  way  to  settle  there,  and  they 
would  need  it  as  a  hunting-ground !  If  they  killed  the 
cattle  and  hogs  of  the  white  people,  he  would  ^  up 
everything  with  the  President,  on  his  return. 

So  in  August  of  1811  he  left,  taking  twenty  warriors. 
With  the  fire-brand  of  tongue  and  the  burning  mystery 
of  his  presence  he  kindled  the  nations  of  the  South. 
He  spoke  in  the  name  of  the  Great  Prophet.  He  urged 
them  all  to  join  as  one  people  and  dam  back  the  white 
wave  that  was  seeking  to  swallow  them. 

He  told  them  that  the  Prophet  had  stationed  a 
'^amp"  in  the  sky,  to  watch  them  for  him — and  sure 
enough,  a  comet  flamed  in  the  horizon.  To  a  Creek 
chief  in  Alabama  he  said : 

*  *  You  do  not  mean  to  fight.  I  know  the  reason.  You 
do  not  believe  that  the  Great  Spirit  has  sent  me.  You 
shall  know.  I  go  from  here  to  Detroit ;  when  I  arrive 
there  I  will  stamp  on  the  ground  with  my  foot  and 
shake  down  all  your  houses. ' ' 

In  December  occurred  an  earthquake  which  de- 
stroyed New  Madrid  town  on  the  Mississippi  in 
southern  Missouri,  and  was  felt  widely.  The  ground 
under  the  Creek  nation  trembled.  The  Creeks  cov- 
ered their  heads  and  cried  aloud : 

^* Tecumseh  has  got  to  Detroit!" 

150 


THE  VOICE  FROM  THE  OPEN  DOOR 

That  was  so.  In  December  Tecumseh  really  had 
got  to  Detroit.  But  he  had  stamped  his  foot  before 
time,  and  he  had  not  made  the  earth  to  tremble.  He 
had  stamped  in  wrath  not  at  the  Creeks,  but  at  his  OAvn 
people. 

When  he  had  left  for  the  North  he  was  ready  to 
strike,  at  any  moment,  with  five  thousand  warriors  of 
North,  South  and  West.  When  he  arrived  home,  he 
found  that  his  plans  were  shattered  like  a  bubble ;  he 
had  no  Prophet,  and  the  former  Prophet  had  no  town ! 


151 


CHAPTER  Xin 

BRIGADIER  GENERAL  TECUMSEH  (1812-1813) 
THE  BISE  AND   FAUL.   OF  A  STAB 

IN  Vincennes,  the  white  chief,  Governor  William 
Henry  Harrison,  had  grown  tired  of  the  insults 
and  defiance  from  the  Prophet.  He  took  nine  hundred 
regulars  and  rangers,  to  visit  the  Prophet's  Town,  him- 
self, and  see  what  was  what. 

He  camped  within  a  mile  of  the  sacred  place,  on  a 
timber  island  of  the  marshy  prairie  seven  miles  north- 
east of  the  present  city  of  Lafayette,  Indiana.  During 
the  darkness  and  early  daylight  of  November  7,  this 
1811,  he  was  attacked  by  the  Prophet's  warriors.  He 
roundly  whipped  them  in  the  hot  battle  of  Tippecanoe. 

The  Prophet  had  brewed  a  kettle  of  magic,  by  which 
(he  proclaimed  to  his  warriors)  he  had  made  one  half 
of  the  American  army  dead,  and  the  other  half  crazy. 
During  the  attack  he  sat  upon  a  high  piece  of  ground, 
and  howled  a  song  that  should  keep  his  warriors  in- 
visible and  turn  the  bullets  of  the  white  men. 

But  something  was  wrong  with  the  kettle,  and  some- 
thing was  wrong  with  the  song;  for  the  Americans 
fought  hard  when  surprised,  and  none  seemed  to  be 
dead ;  and  of  the  one  thousand  Shawnees,  Winnebagos, 
Chippewas,  Kickapoos,  forty  were  killed  by  the  bullets 
and  many  more  wounded. 

152 


BRIGADIER  GENERAL  TECUMSEH 

Of  the  Americans,  thirty-seven  were  killed  and  one 
hundred  and  fifty-two  wounded.  They  pressed  on  to 
the  town,  and  burned  it  in  spite  of  the  Great  Spirit. 

**You  are  a  liar!''  accused  a  Winnebago,  of  the 
Prophet.  **You  said  that  the  white  people  were  dead 
or  crazy,  when  they  were  all  in  their  senses  and  fought 
like  demons ! ' ' 

When  Tecumseh  arrived  with  his  good  news,  the  In- 
dians were  scattered.  In  his  camp  the  *  *  Prophet ' '  was 
being  hooted  at  by  even  the  children.  Tecumseh  was 
so  enraged  with  his  brother  for  not  having  somehow 
kept  the  peace  until  the  time  for  war  was  ripe,  that  he 
seized  him  by  the  hair  of  the  head  and  shook  him  until 
his  teeth  rattled. 

To  Governor  Harrison,  Tecumseh  announced  that 
he  was  well-minded  for  the  visit  with  the  President. 

**If  you  go,  you  must  go  alone,  without  any  com- 
pany of  warriors,''  replied  the  governor. 

**I  am  a  great  chief,  and  I  will  not  go  in  such  a 
shameful  fashion,"  said  Tecumseh.  So  he  went  to 
Canada  instead. 

Now  the  game  was  up.  The  Prophet  had  proved  to 
be  no  prophet  from  the  Great  Spirit.  The  Indians 
felt  cheated,  and  were  not  afraid  to  speak  boldly. 

Councils  were  held  by  twelve  tribes,  together.  Band 
opposed  band.  The  Delawares,  the  Miamis,  the  Kicka- 
poos,  most  of  the  Wyandots,  were  for  peace  with  the 
Americans,  and  for  letting  the  British  alone.  So  were 
the  Potawatomis ;  they  accused  the  Prophet  of  leading 
them  falsely. 

Captain  Elliott,  the  traitor  and  British  agent,  threat- 

153 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

ened  to  have  the  Wyandots  arrested  for  their  talk. 

The  band  of  Canadian  Wyandots  touched  the  British 
war-hatchet;  so  did  Tecumseh  and  the  Prophet.  The 
war  between  the  white  people  had  commenced. 

Between-the-logs  brought  a  message  to  the  Canadian 
Wyandots,  from  Head  Chief  Crane,  of  all  the  Wyan- 
dots. They  were  to  come  back  to  their  hunting- 
grounds. 

Round-head  of  the  hostile  Wyandots  spoke. 

**Tell  the  American  commander  it  is  our  wish  that 
he  should  send  more  men  against  us.  We  want  to  fight 
in  good  earnest." 

The  British  agent  Captain  Elliott  spoke.  **Tell  my 
wife,  your  American  father,  that  I  want  her  to  cook 
the  provisions  for  me  and  my  red  children  more  faith- 
fully than  she  has  done.  If  she  wishes  to  fight  with 
me  and  my  children,  she  must  not  burrow  in  the  earth 
like  a  ground-hog.  She  must  come  out  and  fight 
fairly." 

Between-the-logs  answered  valiantly,  in  behalf  of 
Chief  Crane  the  wise  man : 

**  Brothers !  I  entreat  you  to  listen  to  the  good  talk 
I  have  brought.  If  you  doubt  what  I  have  said  about 
the  force  of  the  Americans,  you  can  send  some  of  your 
people  to  examine  it.  The  truth  is,  your  British  father 
tells  you  lies  and  deceives  you. 

**And  now,  father,  I  will  bear  your  message  to  my 
American  father.  You  compare  the  Americans  to 
ground-hogs.  I  must  confess  that  a  ground-hog  is  a 
hard  animal  to  fight.  He  has  such  sharp  teeth,  such 
a  stubborn  temper,  and  such  unconquerable  spirit, 

154 


BRIGADIER  GENERAL  TECUMSEH 

that  he  is  truly  a  dangerous  animal,  especially  when  in 
his  own  hole.  But,  father,  you  will  have  your  wish. 
Before  many  days  you  will  see  the  ground-hog  floating 
on  yonder  lake,  paddling  his  canoe  toward  your  hole ; 
and  then  you  may  attack  him  to  suit  yourself ! ' ' 

This  council  was  held  at  Brownstown,  beside  Lake 
Erie,  south  of  Detroit.  Nobody  cared  anything  about 
the  Prophet — ^he  was  no  warrior.  But  an  invitation 
was  sent  to  Tecumseh,  in  Canada,  across  the  Detroit 
Eiver. 

**No,'^  he  answered.  **I  have  taken  sides  with  the 
king,  my  father,  and  my  bones  shall  bleach  upon  this 
shore  before  I  will  recross  that  stream  to  join  in  any 
good  words  council." 

The  Wyandots  privately  told  Between-the-logs  that 
the  most  of  them  were  being  held  prisoners  by  the 
British;  but  that  they  accepted  the  belt  from  Head 
Chief  Crane,  and  would  return  to  the  Americans  as 
soon  as  possible.    And  they  did. 

Tecumseh,  however,  had  made  up  his  mind.  He  was 
an  honest  enemy.  There  never  was  anything  half-way 
about  Tecumseh.  His  promised  army  of  ^yq  thousand 
warriors  had  shrunk  to  less  than  one  hundred;  only 
thirty  of  these  were  with  him,  but  he  set  about  getting 
more. 

The  Prophet  his  brother  was  down  at  the  Fort 
"Wayne  agency  in  Indiana.  **Open  Door"  had  partly 
explained  away  his  failure  in  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe. 
His  wife,  he  said,  had  touched  his  medicine  and  spoiled 
its  power,  before  the  battle,  and  he  had  not  known. 

Tecumseh  sent  a  rider  with  word  for  the  Prophet  to 

155 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

remove  all  the  Indian  women  and  children  to  the  Mis- 
sissippi, and  to  bid  the  warriors  strike  Vineennes.  He 
himself  would  join,  if  he  lived,  in  the  country  of  the 
Winnebagos — ^which  was  Wisconsin. 

Delawares,  Senecas,  Chief  Crane's  Wyandots  and 
the  majority  of  the  ShaA\Tiees  themselves  refused  to 
rise  against  the  Americans.  The  other  Indians  waited 
for  stronger  signs.  But  they  did  not  need  to  wait 
long. 

Tecumseh's  star  became  fixed  in  the  sky — ^he  won  the 
first  battle  of  the  war  and  won  it  for  the  British. 
Commanding  seventy  Indians  and  forty  soldiers  he 
whipped  an  American  force  at  Brownstown. 

In  a  second  battle  there,  although  the  Americans 
were  not  captured  it  was  Tecumseh  again  who  held  his 
position  longest.  As  reward,  he  was  promoted  to 
brigadier  general  in  the  army  of  the  king. 

The  Americans  surrendered  Michilimackinac.  The 
American  big  chief,  General  Hull,  retreated  out  of 
Canada. 

Eunners  from  Brigadier  General  Tecumseh  spread 
the  news.  The  Indians  waited  no  longer.  The  Pota- 
watomis  rose,  the  Miamis  rose,  the  Ottawas  and  Winne- 
bagos and  Kickapoos  rose.  Sioux  of  Minnesota  and 
Sacs  of  Illinois  hastened  forward.  General  Tecumseh 
ruled. 

To  the  Miamis  and  Winnebagos  was  assigned  the 
task  of  taking  Fort  Harrison  near  present  Terre  Haute 
of  Indiana ;  to  the  Potawatomis  and  Ottawas,  aided  by 
Tecumseh  and  some  English,  was  assigned  the  task  of 
taking  Fort  Wayne. 

156 


BRIGADIER  GENERAL  TECUMSEH 

But  the  Shooting  Star's  old  foe,  William  Henry  Har- 
rison, was  out  upon  the  war  trail  again.  He  lifted  the 
siege  of  Fort  Wayne.  The  attack  upon  Fort  Harrison 
also  failed.  From  now  on  he  and  Tecumseh  fought 
their  fight,  to  a  finish. 

This  fall  and  winter  of  1812  Tecumseh  traveled  once 
more.  From  Canada  he  journeyed  south  across  a  thou- 
sand miles  of  forest,  prairie  and  waters  clear  to  the 
Indians  of  Georgia,  Tennessee  and  Alabama.  He  did 
not  now  come  with  word  from  any  Prophet,  to  make 
the  red  people  one  nation  and  a  better  nation. 

He  came  as  a  British  officer,  to  bid  the  Southern  In- 
dians join  the  king's  standard,  and  fight  the  Ameri- 
cans into  the  sea  while  he  and  the  English  did  the  same 
work  in  the  north. 

He  distributed  bundles  of  red  sticks  for  them  to 
count — one  stick  a  day.  With  the  last  stick,  they  were 
to  strike. 

The  Creeks  and  Cherokees  were  persuaded,  and 
strike  they  did.  A  bloody  trail  they  made,  which  many 
rains  did  not  wash  clean. 

Back  to  the  war  in  the  spring  of  1813,  Tecumseh 
brought  into  camp  six  hundred  fresh  warriors  from  the 
Wabash.  Now  two  thousand  fighting  men  obeyed  his 
orders  alone.  His  command  frequently  out-numbered 
the  British  command.  He  was  not  a  general  in  name 
only;  he  knew  military  strategy — **he  was  an  excellent 
judge  of  position,"  admitted  the  British  officers.  He 
was  consulted  in  the  war  councils. 

The  British  thought  much  of  him;  the  Americans 
were  obliged  to  think  much  about  him.    But  the  star 

157 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

of  Harrison  also  was  marching  on.  The  two  stars 
came  together,  in  the  trail. 

Tecumseh  with  his  Indians,  and  the  British  General 
Proctor  with  his  soldiers  besieged  the  troublesome 
American  general  at  Fort  Meigs,  near  by  the  battle 
field  of  Fallen  Timbers.  So  again  the  two  rival  chiefs 
were  face  to  face. 

An  American  detachment  was  surprised  and  cap- 
tured. The  Indians  commenced  to  kill  and  torture. 
General  Proctor  looked  on.  Tecumseh  heard  and 
rushed  to  the  scene.  He  had  given  his  word  to  General 
Harrison,  two  years  ago,  and  he  was  furious  at  the 
insult  to  his  honor. 

Defending  the  prisoners  with  knife  and  tomahawk, 
he  sprang  for  the  British  general. 

**Who  dares  permit  such  acts?'' 

**Sir,  your  Indians  cannot  be  controlled.'' 

** Begone!"  roared  Tecumseh.  **You  are  unfit  to 
command;  go  and  put  on  petticoats." 

After  that  he  openly  despised  General  Proctor. 

He  sent  a  note  in  to  his  American  f  oeman : 

"General  Harrison :  I  have  with  me  eight  hundred  braves.  You 
have  an  equal  number  in  your  hiding  place.  Come  out  with  them 
and  give  me  battle.  You  talked  like  a  brave  when  we  met  at 
Vincennes,  and  I  respected  you;  but  now  you  hide  behind  logs  and 
in  the  earth,  like  a  ground-hog.    Give  me  answer.    Tecumseh." 

But  General  Harrison  knew  his  business,  and  car- 
ried on  to  the  successful  end. 

That  end  was  not  far  distant.  General  Tecumseh 
and  General  Proctor  together  failed  to  take  Fort  Meigs. 

158 


BRIGADIER  GENERAL  TECUMSEH 

General  Proctor  ordered  a  retreat.  General  Harrison 
followed  on  the  trail.  General  Tecumseh  hated  to  re- 
treat. At  every  step  he  was  abandoning  Indian 
country. 

The  retreat  northward  to  Canada  continued.  Te- 
cumseh was  fighting  the  battle  of  his  people,  not  of  the 
English ;  he  wished  to  go  no  farther. 

He  proposed  to  his  warriors  that  they  leave  for  an- 
other region,  and  let  the  Americans  and  British  fight 
their  own  war. 

**They  promised  us  plenty  of  soldiers,  to  help  us. 
Instead,  we  are  treated  like  the  dogs  of  snipe-hunters ; 
we  are  always  sent  ahead  to  rouse  the  game. ' ' 

**You  got  us  into  this  war  by  your  promises,"  re- 
torted the  Sioux  and  the  Chippewas.  **You  have  no 
right  to  break  us." 

Any  appeal  to  Tecumseh 's  honor  was  certain  to  win; 
be  stuck.  Then  American  ships  under  Commodore 
Oliver  Hazard  Perry  fought  British  ships  under  Com- 
modore Barclay,  on  Lake  Erie,  and  gained  a  great 
victory. 

From  an  island  near  shore  the  Tecumseh  warriors 
peered  eagerly,  to  the  sound  of  the  heavy  guns. 

**A  few  days  since  you  were  boasting  that  you  com- 
manded the  waters,"  had  said  Tecumseh,  to  General 
Proctor.  '*  Why  do  you  not  go  out  and  meet  the  Amer- 
icans? They  are  daring  you  to  meet  them;  you  must 
send  out  your  fleet  and  fight  them." 

Now,  after  the  battle,  the  British  general  as- 
serted: 

**My  fleet  has  whipped  the  Americans,  but  the  ves- 

159 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

sels  are  injured  and  have  gone  to  Put-in  Bay,  to  refit. 
They  will  be  here  in  a  few  days.'* 

Tecumseh  was  no  fool.  He  had  before  caught  the 
general  in  a  lie.  Here  at  Fort  Maiden  opposite  De- 
troit he  challenged  him  in  a  hot  speech. 

Father!  Listen  to  your  children.  You  have  them  now  all  before 
you. 

The  war  before  this,  our  British  father  gave  the  hatchet  to  his 
red  children,  when  our  old  chiefs  were  alive.  They  are  now  dead. 
In  that  war  our  father  was  thrown  Hat  on  his  back  by  the  Amer- 
icans, and  our  father  took  them  by  the  hand  without  our  knowledge. 
We  are  afraid  that  our  father  will  do  so  again. 

Summer  before  last,  when  I  came  forward  with  my  red  brothers, 
and  was  ready  to  take  up  the  hatchet  in  favor  of  our  British  father, 
we  were  told  not  to  be  in  a  hurry — that  he  had  not  yet  decided  to 
fight  the  Americans. 

Listen !  When  war  was  declared,  our  father  stood  up  and  gave 
us  the  tomahawk,  and  told  us  tliat  he  was  then  ready  to  strike  the 
Americans — that  he  wanted  our  aid — and  that  he  would  surely 
get  us  our  lands  back,  which  the  Americans  had  taken  from  us. 

Listen!  When  we  were  last  at  the  Rapids  [Fort  Meigs]  it  is 
true  that  we  gave  you  little  assistance.  It  is  hard  to  fight  people 
who  live  like  ground-hogs. 

Father,  listen!  Our  ships  have  gone  out;  we  know  they  have 
fought;  we  have  heard  the  great  guns;  but  we  know  nothing  of 
what  happened.  Our  ships  have  gone  one  way,  and  we  are  much 
astonished  to  see  our  father  tying  up  everything  and  preparing  to 
run  away  the  other,  without  letting  his  red  children  know  what  it  is 
about. 

You  always  told  us  to  remain  here,  and  take  care  of  our  lands; 
it  made  our  hearts  glad  to  hear  that  was  your  wish.  You  always 
told  us  you  would  never  draw  your  foot  off  British  ground.  But 
now,  father,  we  see  you  are  drawing  back,  and  we  are  sorry  to  see 
our  father  doing  so  without  seeing  the  enemy.  We  must  compare 
our  father's  action  to  a  fat  dog,  that  carries  its  tail  upon  its  back, 
but  when  frightened,  drops  it  between  its  legs  and  runs  off. 

Father,  listen!  The  Americans  have  not  yet  defeated  us  by  land; 
neither  are  we  sure  that  they  have  done  so  by  water. 

160 


BRIGADIER  GENERAL  TECUMSEH 

We  wish  to  remain  here,  and  fight  the  enemy,  should  they  appear. 
If  they  defeat  us,  we  will  then  retreat  with  our  father. 

At  the  battle  of  the  Rapids  [Fallen  Timbers]  last  war,  the  Amer- 
icans certainly  defeated  us;  and  when  we  returned  to  our  father's 
fort  at  that  place,  the  gates  were  shut  against  us.  Now  instead  of 
that,  we  see  our  British  father  making  ready  to  march  out  of 
his  garrison. 

Father !  You  have  got  the  arms  and  ammunition  which  our  great 
father  sent  for  his  red  children.  If  you  have  an  idea  of  going 
away,  give  them  to  us,  and  you  may  go  and  welcome.  Our  lives 
are  in  the  hands  of  the  Great  Spirit.  We  are  resolved  to  defend 
our  lands,  and  if  it  be  his  will,  we  wish  to  leave  our  bones  upon  them. 

General  Proctor  writhed  under  this  speech,  but  he 
had  to  swallow  it.  He  might  have  done  better  by  tak- 
ing council  with  Tecumseh  and  attacking  the  Ameri- 
cans at  the  instant  of  their  landing  on  the  Canadian 
shore.  The  Indians  would  have  fought  very  hard, 
even  yet,  for  him.  But  he  ordered  the  retreat  again, 
he  burned  Fort  Maiden,  and  marched  inland  up  the 
Thames  River  of  southwestern  Ontario. 

Tecumseh  went  unwillingly.  His  Indians  were 
down-hearted.  General  Harrison  crossed  from  De- 
troit, and  pursued.     Tecumseh  felt  the  sting. 

**We  are  now  going  to  follow  the  British,''  he  said 
to  Jim  Blue- jacket,  son  of  old  Chief  Blue-jacket,  **and 
I  believe  we  shall  never  return." 

He  rode  with  General  Proctor  in  a  buggy,  and  sug- 
gested several  places  that  looked  good  for  making  a 
stand. 

Once  General  Proctor  agreed.  It  was  indeed  an  ex- 
cellent spot,  where  a  large  creek  joined  the  Thames. 

*^We  will  here  defeat  General  Harrison  or  leave  our 
bones,"  he  declared. 

161 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

That  was  a  talk  right  to  Tecumseh's  liking. 

**Wheii  I  look  upon  these  two  streams  they  remind 
me  of  the  Wabash  and  the  Tippecanoe  of  my  own  coun- 
try," he  said  hopefully. 

But  after  Tecumseh  had  gladly  arranged  his  war- 
riors, General  Proctor  decided  to  leave  them  as  a  rear 
guard  and  to  march  on  with  his  soldiers.  The  Ameri- 
cans brought  up  ten  cannon,  and  Tecumseh  was 
wounded  in  the  left  arm,  and  the  Indians  had  to  re- 
treat, also. 

On  the  fourth  of  October,  which  was  a  few  days 
afterward,  at  another  good  place  Tecumseh  said  that 
he  would  go  no  farther  into  Canada.  This  was  British 
soil,  not  Indian  soil.  Unless  the  Americans  were 
whipped  and  the  trail  home  was  opened,  how  were  his 
Indians  ever  to  help  the  other  Indians  fight? 

On  the  morning  of  the  next  day,  October  5,  1813,  he 
and  General  Proctor  made  their  battle  plans. 

**  Shall  we  fight  the  Americans,  father  T'  asked  Sa- 
gaunash,  or  Billy  Caldwell.  He  was  half  English  and 
half  Potawatomi,  and  acted  as  Tecumseh 's  secretary, 
to  translate  Shawnee  into  French  or  English. 

Tecumseh  was  gloomy.  He  had  no  faith  in  the  Brit- 
ish general. 

**Yes,  my  son.  Before  the  sun  sets  we  shall  be  in 
the  enemy's  smoke.  Go.  You  are  wanted  by  Proctor. 
I  will  never  see  you  again. ' ' 

He  posted  his  men.    Then  he  addressed  his  chiefs. 

** Brother  warriors!  We  are  about  to  enter  a  fight 
from  which  I  shall  not  come  out.  My  body  will  re- 
main.''   He  handed  his  sword  and  belt  to  a  friend. 

162 


BRIGADIKR  GP:NERAL  TECUMSEH 

**When  my  son  becomes  a  great  warrior,  and  able  to 
use  a  sword,  give  him  this.'' 

Then  Tecumseh  stripped  off  his  red  uniform  coat, 
bearing  the  gold  epaulets  of  a  British  brigadier  gen- 
eral. He  was  to  fight  as  an  ordinary  Indian,  in  buck- 
skin hunting-shirt. 

There  were  nine  hundred  British  soldiers  and  one 
thousand  Indians.  They  were  well  stationed.  The 
left  flank,  British,  was  protected  by  the  deep  Thames 
River;  the  right  flank,  Indian,  was  protected  by  a  soft 
swamp.  The  Americans  of  General  Harrison  came  on. 
They  numbered  three  thousand:  one  hundred  and 
twenty  United  States  regulars,  the  rest  Kentucky  vol- 
unteer infantry  with  one  regiment  of  mounted  rifle- 
men under  bold  Colonel  Richard  M.  Johnson  of  Ken- 
tucky. 

Tecumseh  would  have  given  a  great  deal  to  whip  this 
doughty  General  Harrison  who  had  come  out  of  his 
'*hole"  at  last.  There  were  old  scores  between  them. 
But,  as  Between-the-logs  had  warned,  **a  ground-hog 
is  a  very  difficult  animal." 

General  William  Henry  Harrison  of  Virginia  knew 
how  to  fight  when  in  his  **hole,"  or  fort — and  he  knew 
how  to  fight  when  out  of  his  **hole,"  and  he  knew  In- 
dian fighting  as  well  as  white  fighting. 

Here  were  three  brigadier  generals — Harrison,  Te- 
cumseh, and  Proctor. 

But  the  battle  was  soon  over.  General  Proctor  had 
made  the  mistake  of  posting  his  soldiers  in  open  order. 
General  Harrison's  eye  was  quick  to  note  the  weak- 
ness.   He  let  the  Indians  alone,  for  a  few  minutes,  and 

163 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

sent  the  right  of  the  mounted  backwoodsmen  in  a 
charge  against  the  British. 

The  horses  broke  clear  through,  wheeled — and  the 
deed  had  been  done.  The  British  soldiers  threw  aside 
their  guns,  to  surrender;  General  Proctor  dashed  fu- 
riously away  in  his  buggy. 

Headed  by  Colonel  Johnson  himself,  the  left  compa- 
nies of  the  mounted  riflemen  now  charged  upon  Te- 
cumseh.     The  infantry  followed. 

The  Indians  had  small  chance,  but  they  fought  well. 
Tecumseh  waited  until  they  could  see  the  flints  in  the 
American  rifles.  Then  he  fired,  raised  the  Shawnee 
war-whoop,  they  all  fired,  and  rushed  with  their  toma- 
hawks to  the  encounter. 

Yes,  they  fought  well.  Their  close  volley  had  killed 
many  Americans.  The  horse  leader,  who  was  Colonel 
Johnson,  had  been  wounded;  the  horse  soldiers  were 
fighting  on  foot,  because  the  swamp  had  entangled  the 
horses'  legs.  The  American  infantry  barely  stood 
fast,  under  the  first  shock. 

Tecumseh 's  voice  had  been  heard  constantly,  shout- 
ing for  victory — as  before  him  old  Annawan  the  Wam- 
panoag  and  Cornstalk  the  other  Shawnee  had  shouted. 
Suddenly  the  voice  had  ceased. 

A  cry  arose  instead:  ^* Tecumseh  is  dead!  Tecum- 
seh is  dead!^'  And  at  that,  as  a  Potawatomi  after- 
ward explained,  **We  all  ran.'' 

Some  people  said  that  Tecumseh  had  charged  with 
the  tomahawk  upon  the  wounded  Colonel  Johnson,  and 
that  Colonel  Johnson  had  shot  him  with  a  pistol,  just 
in  time.    Some  people  denied  this.     Colonel  Johnson 

164 


BRIGADIER  GENERAL  TECUMSEH 

himself  said  that  he  did  not  know — he  did  not  pause  to 
ask  the  Indian's  name,  and  did  not  stay  to  examine 
him!  There  was  quite  an  argument  over  the  honor — 
but  Tecumseh  did  not  care.  He  was  lying  dead,  in  his 
simple  buckskin,  and  for  a  time  was  not  even  recog- 
nized. 

A  gaudily  dressed  chief  was  mistaken  for  him,  until 
friendly  Indians  with  General  Harrison  stated  that  the 
great  Tecumseh  had  a  ridge  on  his  thigh,  from  a  broken 
bone. 

By  this  he  was  found,  after  nightfall.  He  was 
brought  to  the  camp-fires,  where  a  circle  of  the  Ken- 
tuckians  gathered  about  him,  to  admire  his  fine  figure 
and  handsome  face.    He  had  been  a  worthy  foeman. 

So  Tecumseh  quit,  at  last.  He  never  could  have 
lived  to  see  the  white  men  pushed  across  the  Ohio,  and 
all  the  red  men  occupying  the  West  as  one  nation. 
That  was  not  written  of  his  star,  or  any  other  star. 

But  he  left  a  good  reputation.  He  had  been  of  high 
mind  and  clean  heart,  and  he  had  fought  in  the  open. 
The  British  adjutant-general  at  Montreal  issued  pub- 
lic orders  lamenting  his  death  and  praising  his  brav- 
ery. The  British  throne  sent  his  young  son,  Puck-e- 
sha-shin-wa,  a  sword,  and  settled  a  pension  upon  the 
family,  in  memory  of  the  father. 

The  Prophet  received  a  pension,  too.  He  stayed  in 
Canada  until  1826,  when  he  moved  down  among  the 
Shawnees  of  Ohio  again.  He  long  out-lived  his  greater 
brother,  and  died  in  the  Shawnee  village  in  present 
Kansas,  in  1837.  He  posed  as  a  prophet  to  the  very 
last. 

165 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

As  for  General  William  Henry  Harrison,  who  had 
broken  them  both — ^borne  onward  by  his  nickname 
**01d  Tippecanoe"  he  became,  in  1841,  ninth  President 
of  the  United  States ;  and  on  his  reputation  of  having 
**  killed  Tecumseh,"  Colonel  Johnson  already  had  been 
a  vice-president. 


166 


CHAPTEK  XIV 

THE  RED  STICKS  AT  HORSESHOE  BEND  (1813-1814) 

AND   THE    WONDERFUL   ESCAPE   OF   CHIEF   MENEWA 

AS  fast  as  Tecumseh  and  the  Open  Door,  or  their 
messengers,  traveled,  they  left  in  their  trail  other 
prophets.  Soon  it  was  a  poor  tribe  indeed  that  did  not 
have  a  medicine-man  who  spoke  from  the  Great  Spirit. 

When  Tecumseh  first  visited  the  Creeks,  in  Georgia 
and  Alabama,  they  were  not  ready  for  war.  They 
were  friendly  to  the  whites,  and  were  growing  rich  in 
peace. 

The  Creeks  belonged  to  the  Musk-ho-ge-an  family, 
and  numbered  twenty  thousand  people,  in  fifty  towns. 
They  had  light  complexions,  and  were  good-looking. 
Their  women  were  short,  their  men  tall,  straight,  quick 
and  proud. 

Their  English  name,  ^^ Creeks,''  referred  to  the  many 
streams  in  their  country  of  Georgia  and  eastern  Ala- 
bama. They  were  also  called  ^  *  Muskogee ' '  and  *  *  Mus- 
cogee,'' by  reason  of  their  language — ^the  Musk-ho- 
ge-an. 

They  were  well  civilized,  and  lived  almost  in  white 
fashion.  They  kept  negro  slaves,  the  same  as  the 
white  people,  to  till  their  fields,  and  wait  upon  them; 
they  wore  clothing  of  calico,  cotton,  and  the  like,  in 
bright  colors.    Their  houses  were  firmly  built  of  reed 

167 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

and  cane,  with  thatched  roofs;  their  towns  were  or- 
derly. 

With  the  Chickasaws  and  the  Choctaws,  their  neigh- 
bors in  western  Alabama  and  in  Mississippi,  they  were 
at  war,  and  had  more  than  held  their  own. 

White  was  their  peace  color,  and  red  their  war  color. 
And  when  Tecumseh  gave  them  the  red  sticks,  on  which 
to  count  the  days,  he  did  nothing  new.  The  war  par- 
ties of  the  Creeks  already  were  known  as  Eed  Sticks. 

This  was  their  custom :  that  a  portion  of  their  towns 
should  be  White  Towns,  where  peace  ceremonies  should 
be  performed  and  no  human  blood  should  be  shed ;  the 
other  portion  should  be  Red  Towns,  where  war  should 
be  declared  by  erecting  a  red-painted  pole,  around 
which  the  warriors  should  gather.  The  war  clans  were 
Bearers  of  the  Red,  or.  Red  Sticks. 

The  first  visit  by  Tecumseh,  in  1811,  carrying  his 
Great  Spirit  talk  of  a  union  of  all  Indian  nations,  failed 
to  make  the  Creeks  erect  their  red  poles.  Even  the 
earthquake,  that  Tecumseh  was  supposed  to  have 
brought  about  by  the  stamping  of  his  foot,  failed  to  do 
more  than  to  frighten  the  Creeks. 

But  they  caught  the  prophet  fad.  Their  pretended 
prophets  began  to  stir  them  up,  and  throw  fear  into 
them.  In  1802  the  United  States  had  bought  from  the 
Creeks  a  large  tract  of  Georgia ;  the  white  people  were 
determined  to  move  into  it.  Alarmed,  the  Creeks  met 
in  council,  after  Tecumseh 's  visit,  and  voted  to  sell  no 
more  of  their  lands  without  the  consent  of  every  tribe 
in  the  nation.  Whoever  privately  signed  to  sell  land, 
should  die.    All  land  was  to  be  held  in  common,  lest 

168 


THE  RED  STICKS  AT  HORSESHOE  BEND 

the  white  race  over-run  the  red.  That  was  a  doctrine 
of  the  Shawnee  Prophet  himself,  as  taught  to  him  by 
the  Great  Spirit. 

When  Tecumseh  came  down  from  Canada,  in  the 
winter  of  1812,  on  his  second  visit,  the  Creeks  were 
ripening  for  war.  Their  Ked  Sticks  party  was  very 
strong.  The  many  prophets,  some  of  whom  were  half 
negro,  had  declared  that  the  whites  could  be  driven  into 
the  sea.  The  soil  of  the  Creek  nation  was  to  be  sacred 
soil. 

Traders  had  been  at  work,  promising  aid,  and  sup- 
plying ammunition,  in  order  to  enlist  the  Creeks  upon 
the  British  side. 

So  in  the  Eed  Towns  the  Eed  Sticks  struck  the 
painted  poles;  the  peace  party  sat  still  in  the  White 
Towns,  and  was  despised  by  the  Beds  as  white  in 
blood  as  well  as  in  spirit. 

The  hope  of  the  Creeks  was  to  wipe  the  white  man's 
settlements  from  the  face  of  Mississippi,  Georgia  and 
Tennessee.  Alabama,  in  the  middle,  would  then  be 
safe,  also.  But  the  Choctaws,  the  Chickasaws,  the 
Cherokees,  refused  to  join.  The  White  Sticks  them- 
selves listened  to  the  words  of  their  old  men,  and  of 
Plead  Chief  William  Macintosh;  they  said  that  they 
had  no  feud  with  the  United  States. 

Commencing  with  President  Washington,  the  United 
States  had  treated  the  Creeks  honestly;  the  Creek  na- 
tion had  grown  rich  on  its  own  lands. 

The  Eed  Sticks  went  to  war — and  a  savage  war  they 
waged;  the  more  savage,  because  by  this  time,  the 
spring  of  1813,  all  the  Creeks  were  not  of  pure  blood. 

169 


BQYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

They  had  lived  so  long  in  peace,  in  their  towns,  that 
their  men  and  women  had  married  not  only  among  the 
white  people  but  also  among  the  black  people;  there- 
fore their  blood  was  getting  to  be  a  mixture  of  good 
and  bad  from  three  races. 

Head  Chief  William  Macintosh  was  the  peace  chief. 
He  was  half  Scotch  and  half  Creek,  and  bore  his  fa- 
ther's family  name.  He  joined  the  side  of  the  United 
States. 

The  war  chiefs  were  Lam-o-chat-tee,  or  Red  Eagle, 
and  Menewa.     They,  too,  were  half-breeds. 

Chief  Red  Eagle  was  called  William  Weatherford, 
after  his  white  trader  father  who  had  married  a  Creek 
girl.  He  lived  in  princely  style,  on  a  fine  plantation, 
surrounded  with  slaves  and  luxury. 

Menewa  was  second  to  Chief  Macintosh.  His  name 
meant  ** Great  Warrior";  and  by  reason  of  his  daring 
he  had  earned  another  name,  Ho-thle-po-ya,  or  Crazy- 
war-hunter.  He  was  bom  in  1765,  and  was  now  forty- 
eight  years  old.  He  and  Chief  Macintosh  were  rivals 
for  favor  and  position. 

Menewa  was  the  head  war  chief — ^he  frequently 
crossed  into  Tennessee,  to  steal  horses  from  the  Ameri- 
can settlers  there.  A  murder  was  committed  by  In- 
dians, near  his  home;  Georgians  burned  one  of  his 
towns,  as  punishment.  Chief  Macintosh  was  accused 
of  having  caused  this  murder,  in  order  to  enrage  the 
white  people  against  Menewa;  and  when  Macintosh 
stood  out  for  peace,  Menewa  stood  out  for  war. 

He  and  Chief  Weatherford  led  the  Red  Sticks  upon 
the  war  trail ;  but  greater  in  rank  than  either  of  them 

170 


THE  RED  STICKS  AT  HORSESHOE  BEND 

was  Monahoe,  the  ruling  prophet,  of  Menewa's  own 
band.  He  was  the  head  medicine-chief.  He  was  the 
Sitting  Bull  of  the  Creeks,  like  the  later  Sitting  Bull  of 
the  Sioux. 

Out  went  the  Eed  Sticks,  encouraged  by  Monahoe 
and  the  other  prophets.  Already  the  white  settlers 
had  become  alarmed  at  the  quarrel  between  the  Macin- 
tosh bands  and  the  Menewa  bands.  When  two  Indian 
parties  fight,  then  the  people  near  them  suffer  by  raids. 
All  Alabama,  Mississippi  and  Georgia  prepared  for  de- 
fense. 

There  were  killings ;  but  the  first  big  blow  with  the 
Creek  hatchet,  to  help  the  British  and  to  drive  the 
Americans  into  the  sea,  was  struck  in  August  against 
Fort  Mimms,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Alabama  Eiver  in 
southwestern  Alabama  above  Mobile. 

With  all  the  cunning  of  the  three  bloods,  the  war- 
riors waited  until  sand  enough  had  drifted,  day  by 
day,  to  keep  the  gate  of  the  fort  from  being  quickly 
closed.  Then,  at  noon  of  August  30,  they  rushed  in. 
The  commander  of  the  fort  had  been  warned,  but  he 
was  as  foolish  as  some  of  those  officers  in  the  Pontiac 
war.  The  garrison,  of  regulars,  militia,  and  volun- 
teers, fought  furiously,  in  vain.  More  than  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty — soldiers,  and  the  families  of  settlers, 
both — ^were  killed;  only  thirty  persons  escaped. 

Now  it  was  the  days  of  King  Philip,  over  again,  and 
this  time  in  Tennessee,  Georgia,  Alabama  and  Missis- 
sippi, instead  of  in  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island  and 
Connecticut.  At  the  news  of  Fort  Mimms,  the  settlers 
fled  for  protection  into  towns  and  block-houses.    If  the 

171 


BOYS^     BOOR     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

Choctaws,  the  Chickasaws  and  other  Southern  Indians 
joined  in  league  with  the  Creeks,  there  easily  would 
be  fifteen  thousand  brave,  fierce  warriors  in  the 
field. 

However,  the  Choctaws  and  Chickasaws  enlisted 
with  the  United  States;  Chief  Macintosh's  friendly 
Creeks  did  not  falter;  and  speedily  the  fiery  Andy 
Jackson  was  marching  down  from  Tennessee,  at  the 
head  of  two  thousand  picked  men,  to  crush  out  the  men 
of  Menewa  and  Weatherf  ord. 

Other  columns,  from  Tennessee,  Georgia,  Alabama 
and  Mississippi,  also  were  on  the  trail.  The  Creeks 
fought  to  the  death,  but  they  made  their  stands  in  vain. 
The  United  States  was  on  a  war  footing ;  it  had  the  sol- 
diers and  the  guns  and  the  leaders;  its  columns  of 
militia  destroyed  town  after  town — even  the  sacred 
Creek  capital  where  warriors  from  eight  towns  to- 
gether gathered  to  resist  the  invader.  Yes,  and  even 
the  town  built  by  direction  of  the  prophets  and  named 
Holy  Ground  and  protected  by  magic. 

By  the  close  of  1813,  this  Jackson  Chula  Harjo — 
**01d  Mad  Jackson,"  as  the  Creeks  dubbed  him — had 
proved  to  be  as  tough  as  his  later  name,  **01d  Hick- 
ory." But  Menewa  and  Weatherf  ord  were  tough,  too. 
They  and  their  more  than  one  thousand  warriors  still 
hung  out. 

In  March  they  were  led  by  their  prophets  to  another 
and  ** holier"  ground;  Tohopeka,  or  Horseshoe  Bend, 
on  the  Tallapoosa  Eiver  in  eastern  Alabama. 

The  Creek  town  of  Oakfuskee  was  located  below. 
And  here,  in  1735,  some  eighty  years  before,  there  had 

172 


THE  RED  STICKS  AT  HORSESHOE  BEND 

been  a  fort  of  their  English  friends.  It  was  good 
ground. 

Chief  Prophet  Monahoe  and  two  other  prophets,  by- 
song  and  dance  enchanted  the  ground  inside  the  bend, 
and  made  it  safe  from  the  foot  of  any  white  man. 
Monahoe  said  that  he  had  a  message  from  Heaven  that 
assured  victory  to  the  Creeks,  in  this  spot.  If  the  Old 
Mad  Jackson  came,  he  and  all  his  soldiers  should  die, 
by  wrath  from  a  cloud.  Hail  as  large  as  hominy  mor- 
tars would  flatten  them  out. 

As  was  well  known  to  the  Creeks,  Old  Mad  Jackson 
was  having  his  troubles.  The  Great  Spirit  had  sent 
troubles  upon  him — ^had  caused  his  men  to  rebel,  and 
his  provisions  to  fail,  until  acorns  were  saved  and 
eaten.  The  United  States  could  not  much  longer  fight 
the  British  and  the  Indians  together.  Let  the  Creeks 
not  give  up. 

The  Horseshoe  was  rightly  named,  for  a  sharp  curve 
of  the  Tallapoosa  Kiver  enclosed  about  one  hundred 
acres  of  brushy,  timbered  bluffs  and  low-land,  very 
thick  to  the  foot.  The  entrance  to  the  neck  was  only 
three  hundred  yards  wide.  On  the  three  other  sides 
the  river  flowed  deep. 

Menewa  was  the  field  commander  of  the  Red  Sticks, 
at  this  place.  He  showed  a  great  head — ^he  was  half 
white  and  half  red,  but  all  Creek  in  education.  Across 
the  neck,  at  its  narrowest  point  he  had  a  barricade  of 
logs  erected,  from  river  bank  to  river  bank. 

The  barricade,  of  three  to  five  logs  piled  eight  feet 
high  and  filled  with  earth  and  rock,  was  pierced  with 
a  double  row  of  port-holes:  one  row  for  the  kneeling 

173 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

warriors,  and  one  for  the  standing  warriors.  The  bar- 
ricade was  built  in  zigzags,  along  a  concave  curve,  so 
that  attackers  would  be  cut  down  by  shots  from  two 
sides  as  well  as  from  in  front.  By  reason  of  the  zig- 
zags it  could  not  be  raked  from  either  end. 

All  around  the  high  ground  back  of  the  barricade, 
trees  were  laid,  and  brush  arranged  so  that  the  war- 
riors might,  if  driven,  pass  back  from  covert  to  covert, 
until  they  reached  the  huts  of  the  women  and  children 
and  old  men,  at  the  river,  behind.  Here  a  hundred  ca- 
noes were  drawn  up,  on  the  bank,  in  readiness. 

But  the  Red  Sticks  of  Chief  Menewa  had  no  thought 
of  flight.  They  were  one  thousand.  Their  prophets 
had  assured  them  over  and  over  that  the  medicine  of 
the  Creek  nation  was  strong,  at  last;  that  the  Great 
Spirit  was  fighting  for  them;  that  the  bullets  of  the 
Americans  would  have  no  effect,  and  that  the  Ameri- 
cans themselves  would  die  before  the  barricade  was 
reached.  The  cloud  would  come  and  help  the  Creeks, 
with  hail — hail  like  hominy  mortars ! 

On  March  24  **01d  Mad  Jackson,"  just  appointed 
by  President  Madison  to  be  major-general  in  the  United 
States  army,  set  out  against  *^ Crazy- war-hunter" 
Menewa  at  Tohopeka. 

The  way  was  difficult,  through  dense  timber,  swamps 
and  cane-brakes.  Alabama,  in  these  days,  had  been 
only  thinly  settled  by  white  people. 

He  had  three  thousand  men :  a  part  of  the  39th  U.  S. 
Infantry,  a  thousand  Tennessee  militia,  six  hundred 
friendly  Creeks  and  Cherokees.  He  had  two  cannon: 
a  six-pounder  and  a  three-pounder. 

174 


THE  RED  STICKS  AT  HORSESHOE  BEND 

His  chief  assistant  was  General  John  Coffee  of  Ala- 
bama, who  had  formerly  been  his  business  partner. 
Major  Lemuel  P.  Montgomery,  a  Virginian  of  Tennes- 
see, commanded  one  battalion  of  the  regulars.  He  was 
six  feet  two  inches,  aged  twenty-eight,  and  ^*the  finest 
looking  man  in  the  army."  Young  Sam  Houston,  who 
became  the  hero  of  Texas  independence,  was  a  third 
lieutenant.  Head  Chief  William  Macintosh,  Menewa's 
rival,  led  the  Creeks.  Chief  Eichard  Brown  led  the 
Cherokees. 

In  the  evening  of  March  26  bold  General  Jackson 
viewed  the  Bed  Sticks '  fort,  and  found  it  very  strong. 
He  was  amazed  by  the  skill  with  which  it  had  been  laid 
out.  No  trained  military  engineers  could  have  done 
better. 

But  his  Indian  spies  saw  everything — they  saw  the 
line  of  canoes  drawn  up  in  the  brush  along  the  river 
bank  behind,  at  the  base  of  the  bend ;  and  General  Jack- 
son decided  to  do  what  the  Eed  Sticks  had  not  expected 
him  to  do. 

Early  in  the  next  morning,  March  27,  he  detached 
General  Coffee,  with  seven  hundred  mounted  men,  the 
^ye  hundred  Cherokees  and  the  one  hundred  Creeks,  to 
make  a  circuit,  cross  the  river  below  the  bend,  and  come 
up  on  the  opposite  side,  behind  the  Horseshoe.  This 
would  cut  off  escape  in  canoes. 

With  the  remainder  of  his  soldiers  he  advanced  to 
the  direct  attack  upon  the  breast-works.  He  planted 
his  two  cannon.  At  ten  o  'clock  he  opened  hot  fire  with 
the  cannon  and  with  muskets. 

Chief  Menewa's  Eed  Sticks  were  ready  and  defiant. 

175 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS! 

They  answered  witli  whoops  and  bullets.  Their  three 
prophets,  horridly  adorned  with  bird  crests  and  feath- 
ers and  jingling  charms,  danced  and  sang,  to  bring  the 
cloud.  The  balls  from  the  cannon  only  sank  into  the 
damp  pine  logs,  and  did  no  damage.  The  musket  balls 
stopped  short  or  hissed  uselessly  over. 

For  two  hours  Old  Mad  Jackson  attacked,  from  a 
distance.  He  had  not  dared  to  charge — ^the  prophets 
danced  faster,  they  chanted  higher — ^the  Eed  Sticks 
had  been  little  harmed — ^they  whooped  gaily — ^they  had 
faith  in  their  Holy  Ground. 

But  suddenly  there  arose  behind  them  a  fresh  hub- 
bub of  shots  and  shouts,  and  the  screams  of  their 
women  and  children ;  the  smoke  of  their  burning  huts 
welled  above  the  tree-tops.  General  Coffee,  with  his 
mounted  men,  had  completely  surrounded  the  bend, 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river ;  his  Indians  had  swum 
across,  had  seized  the  canoes,  had  ferried  their  com- 
rades over  by  the  hundred,  the  soldiers  were  follow- 
ing— and  now  the  Menewa  warriors  were  between  two 
fires. 

At  the  instant,  here  came  Mad  Jackson's  troops  to 
charge  the  barricade. 

That  was  a  terrible  ^ght,  at  the  breast-works.  Chief 
Menewa  encouraged  his  men.  The  test  of  the  Holy 
Ground  protected  by  the  Great  Spirit  and  the  prophets 
had  arrived. 

The  battle  was  to  decide  whether  the  Creek  nation 
or  the  American  nation  was  to  rule  in  Georgia  and 
Alabama,  and  the  Eed  Sticks  made  mighty  defense. 
While  they  raged,  they  looked  for  the  cloud  in  the  sky. 

176 


THE  RED  STICKS  AT  HORSESHOE  BEND 

So  close  was  the  fighting,  that  musket  muzzle  met 
musket  muzzle,  in  the  port-holes;  pistol  shot  replied 
to  rifle  shot;  and  bullets  from  the  Red  Sticks  were 
melted  upon  the  bayonets  of  the  soldiers. 

Major  Lemuel  Montgomery  sprang  upon  the  top  of 
the  barricade.  Back  he  toppled,  shot  through  the 
head.  *^I  have  lost  the  flower  of  my  army,'^  mourned 
General  Jackson,  tears  in  his  eyes. 

Lieutenant  Houston  received  an  arrow  in  his  thigh; 
and  later,  two  bullets  in  his  shoulder. 

Lieutenants  Moulton  and  Somerville  fell  dead. 

Again  and  again  the  white  warriors  were  swept  from 
the  barricade  by  the  Red  Sticks'  arrows,  spears,  toma- 
hawks and  balls.  Others  took  their  places,  to  ply  bayo- 
nets and  guns — stabbing,  shooting.  The  uproar  in  the 
rear  grew  greater,  and  many  of  the  Red  Sticks  behind 
the  breast-works  were  being  shot  in  the  back;  the 
voices  of  the  prophets  had  weakened;  no  cloud  ap- 
peared in  the  sky,  bearing  to  the  whites  death  from  the 
Great  Spirit. 

Beset  on  all  sides.  Chief  Menewa's  men  began  to 
scurry  back  for  their  timber  shelters,  to  fight  their  way 
to  the  river.    But  no  one  surrendered. 

Having  won  the  barricade,  and  cut  off  the  escape  of 
the  Red  Sticks  in  the  opposite  direction,  the  white  gen- 
eral halted  the  further  attack.  He  sent  a  flag  of  truce 
forward,  toward  the  jungle. 

**If  you  will  stop  fighting,  your  lives  will  be  spared," 
he  ordered  the  interpreter  to  call.  ^*0r  else  first  re- 
move your  women  and  children,  so  they  will  not  be 
kiUed.^' 

177 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

But  tlie  anxious  eyes  of  warrior  and  prophet  had 
seen  the  Spirit  cloud  rising,  at  last,  into  the  sky ;  high 
pealed  their  whoops  and  chants  again ;  a  volley  of  bul- 
lets answered  the  truce  flag. 

The  white  soldiers  re-opened  with  musket  balls  and 
grape-shot.  The  Cherokee  and  Creek  scouts,  fighting 
on  their  side,  tried  to  ferret  out  the  hiding  places. 
Alas,  the  cloud  proved  to  be  only  a  little  shower,  and 
then  vanished.  The  Great  Spirit  had  deserted  the 
prophets. 

The  American  bullets  thickened.  With  torches  and 
blazing  arrows  the  jungle  was  set  afire.  Eoasted  from 
their  coverts,  the  Red  Sticks  had  to  flee  for  the  river. 
When  they  fled,  the  rifles  of  the  Tennessee  sharp- 
shooters caught  them  in  mid-stride,  or  picked  them  off, 
in  the  river. 

Chief  Menewa  was  bleeding  from  a  dozen  wounds. 
He  made  desperate  stand,  but  the  cloud  had  gone,  the 
fire  was  roaring,  Head  Prophet  Monahoe  was  down 
dead,  dead ;  the  Great  Spirit  had  smitten  him  through 
the  mouth  with  a  grape-ball,  as  if  to  rebuke  him  for 
lying.  There  was  only  one  prophet  left  alive.  Him, 
Menewa  angrily  killed  with  his  own  hand;  then  joined 
the  flight. 

He  plunged  into  the  river.  His  strength  was  al- 
most spent,  and  he  could  not  swim  out  of  reach  of  the 
sharp-shooters'  bullets.  The  water  was  four  feet 
deep.  So  he  tore  loose  a  hollow  joint  of  cane;  and 
crouching  under  the  water,  with  the  end  of  the  cane 
stuck  above  the  surface,  he  held  fast  te  a  root  and 
breathed  through  the  cane. 

178 


THE  RED  STICKS  AT  HORSESHOE  BEND 

Here  he  stayed,  under  water,  for  four  hours  until 
darkness  had  cloaked  land  and  river,  and  the  yelling 
and  shooting  had  ceased.  Then,  soaked  and  chilled 
and  stiffened,  he  cautiously  straightened  up.  He 
waded  through  the  cane-brake,  hobbled  all  night 
through  the  forest,  and  got  away. 

But  he  had  no  army.  Of  his  one  thousand  Red 
Sticks  eight  hundred  were  dead.  Five  hundred  and 
fifty-seven  bodies  were  found  upon  the  Horseshoe  bat- 
tle-field. One  hundred  and  fifty  more  had  perished  in 
the  river.  Only  one  warrior  was  unwounded.  Three 
hundred  women  and  children  had  been  captured — and 
but  three  men.  The  Red  Sticks  of  the  Creek  nation 
were  wiped  out. 

Of  the  whites,  twenty-six  had  been  killed,  one  hun- 
dred and  seven  wounded.  Of  the  Cherokee  and  Creek 
scouts,  twenty-three  had  been  killed,  forty-seven 
wounded. 

Chief  William  Macintosh  also  had  fought  bravely, 
but  he  had  not  been  harmed. 

The  Red  Sticks  now  agreed  to  a  treaty  of  peace  with 
the  United  States;  and  Chief  Menewa,  scarred  from 
head  to  foot,  was  the  hero  of  his  band.  **One  of  the 
bravest  chiefs  that  ever  lived, '^  is  written  after  his 
name,  by  white  historians.  In  due  time  he  again  op- 
posed Chief  Macintosh,  and  won  out. 

For  in  1825  Macintosh  was  bribed  by  the  white  peo- 
ple to  urge  upon  his  nation  the  selling  of  the  last  of 
their  lands  in  Georgia.  He  signed  the  papers,  so  did 
a  few  other  chiefs ;  but  the  majority,  thirty-six  in  num- 
ber, refused. 

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BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

Only  some  three  hundred  of  the  Creeks  were  par- 
ties to  the  signing  away  of  the  land  of  the  whole  na- 
tion. The  three  thousand  other  chiefs  and  warriors 
said  that  by  Creek  law,  which  Chief  Macintosh  him- 
self had  proposed,  the  land  could  not  be  sold  except 
through  the  consent  of  a  grand  council. 

As  the  nation  owned  the  land,  and  had  built  bet- 
ter towns,  and  was  living  well  and  peacefully,  the 
council  decided  that  Chief  Macintosh  must  be  put  to 
death — for  he  was  a  traitor  and  he  knew  the  law. 

Chief  Menewa  was  asked  to  consent;  he  ruled,  by 
reason  of  his  wisdom  and  his  scars.  Finally  he  saw 
no  other  way  than  to  order  the  deed  done,  for  the 
Creek  law  was  plain. 

On  the  morning  of  May  1  he  took  a  party  of  war- 
riors to  the  Chief  Macintosh  house,  and  surrounded  it. 
There  were  some  white  Georgians  inside.  He  directed 
them  to  leave,  as  he  had  come  to  kill  only  Chief  Macin- 
tosh, according  to  the  law. 

So  the  white  men,  and  the  women  and  children,  left. 
When  Chief  Macintosh  bolted  in  flight,  he  was  shot 
dead. 

The  Georgia  people,  who  desired  the  Creek  land, 
prepared  for  war,  or  to  arrest  Menewa  and  his  party. 
But  the  President,  learning  the  ins  and  outs  of  the 
trouble,  and  seeing  that  the  land  had  not  been  sold  by 
the  Creek  nation,  ordered  the  sale  held  up.  The 
Creeks  stayed  where  they  were,  for  some  years. 

Menewa  went  to  war  once  more,  in  1836,  and  helped 
the  United  States  fight  against  the  Seminoles  of  Flor- 
ida.   In  return  for  this,  he  asked  permission  to  remain 

180 


THE  RED  STICKS  AT  HORSESHOE  BEND 

and  live  in  his  own  country  of  the  Creeks.    But  he  was 
removed,  with  the  last  of  the  nation,  beyond  the  Mis- 
sissippi to  the  Indian  Territory. 
There,  an  old  man,  he  died. 


181 


CHAPTER  XV 

BLACK-HAWK  THE  SAC  PATRIOT  (1831-1838) 
THE   INDIAN   WHO   DID   NOT   UNDEKSTAND 

THE  two  small  nations  of  the  Sacs  and  the  Foxes 
had  lived  as  one  family  for  a  long  time.  They 
were  of  the  Algonquian  tongue.  From  the  northern 
Great  Lakes  country  they  had  moved  over  to  the  Mis- 
sissippi Kiver,  and  down  to  Illinois  and  Iowa.  'Their 
number  was  not  more  than  six  thousand.  They  were 
a  shave-head  Indian,  of  forest  and  stream,  and  accus- 
tomed to  travel  afoot  or  in  canoes. 

The  Foxes  built  their  bark-house  villages  on  the 
west  side  of  the  Mississippi,  in  Iowa's  ** great  nose.'' 
They  called  themselves  Mus-qua-kees,  or  the  Eed 
Earth  People.  They  said  that  they  had  been  made 
from  red  clay.  Their  totem  was  a  fox ;  and  the  French 
of  the  Great  Lakes  had  dubbed  them  Foxes — had  as- 
serted that,  like  the  fox,  they  were  quarrelsome,  tricky 
and  thievish.  As  warriors  they  were  much  feared. 
They  had  lost  heavily. 

The  Sacs  built  opposite,  on  the  Illinois  shore,  from 
Eock  Eiver  down.  They  called  themselves  Saukees, 
from  their  word  0-sa-ki-wug,  or  Yellow  Earth  People. 
They  were  larger  and  better  looking  than  the  Foxes, 
and  not  so  tricky ;  but  their  bravery  was  never  doubted. 

These  two  nations  together  drove  out  the  other  In- 

182 


BLACK-HAWK  THE  SAC  PATRIOT 

dians  in  this  new  country.  They  whipped  even  the 
Sioux,  who  claimed  the  northern  Iowa  hunting  grounds ; 
they  whipped  the  Omahas,  Osages  and  Pawnees  of  the 
west,  the  Mascoutins  to  the  south,  and  the  Illinois 
tribes.    They  were  here  to  stay. 

While  the  men  hunted  and  fished  and  went  to  war, 
the  women  raised  great  crops  of  beans,  squashes, 
melons,  potatoes  and  Indian  corn,  and  gathered  the 
Avild  rice  of  the  lakes. 

Among  the  Sac  leaders  was  Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia- 
kiak — Big-black-breast,  or  Black-hawk.  Like  Little 
Turtle  of  the  Miamis  he  had  not  been  born  a  chief ;  but 
he  was  of  the  Thunder  clan,  the  head  clan  of  the  Sacs. 

His  father  was  Py-e-sa,  a  warrior  of  the  rank  of 
braves,  and  keeper  of  the  tribal  medicine-bag.  His 
grandfather  was  Na-na-ma-kee,  or  Thunder — also  a 
brave. 

Black-hawk  was  born  in  1767,  in  Sauk-e-nuk,  the 
principal  Sac  village,  where  Eock  Island,  Illinois,  now 
stands,  north  of  the  mouth  of  the  Eock  Eiver. 

He  won  the  rank  of  brave  when  he  was  only  fifteen 
years  old.  He  did  this  by  killing  and  scalping  an 
Osage  warrior,  on  the  war-trail  against  these  head- 
takers.    After  that  he  was  allowed  in  the  scalp-dances. 

He  went  against  the  Osages  a  second  time.  With 
seven  men  he  attacked  one  hundred,  and  escaped  car- 
rying another  scalp.  When  he  was  eighteen,  he  and 
five  comrades  pierced  the  Osage  country  across  the 
Missouri  Eiver,  and  got  more  scalps.  When  he  was 
nineteen,  he  led  two  hundred  other  braves  against  the 
Osages,  and  killed  ^ve  Osages  with  his  own  hand. 

183 


BOYS'     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

■  >  ■ 

By  his  deeds  lie  had  become  a  chief. 

In  a  battle  with  the  Cherokees,  below  St.  Louis,  his 
father  Pyesa  fell.  Young  Black-hawk  was  awarded 
the  medicine-bag — *Hhe  soul  of  the  Sac  nation.'' 

In  the  early  spring  of  1804  a  man  of  the  Sac  band 
then  living  on  the  Missouri,  near  St.  Louis,  to  hunt 
and  trade,  killed  a  white  man.  He  was  arrested.  The 
Sacs  and  Foxes  held  a  council  and  chose  four  chiefs  to 
go  to  St.  Louis  and  buy  their  warrior's  freedom  with 
presents.    This  was  the  Indian  way. 

The  chiefs  selected  were  Pa-she-pa-ho,  or  Stabber, 
who  was  head  chief  of  the  Sacs;  Quash-qua-me,  or 
Jumping  Fish;  Ou-che-qua-ha,  or  Sun  Fish;  and  Ha- 
she-quar-hi-qua,  or  Bear. 

They  went  in  the  summer  of  1804  and  were  gone  a 
long  time.  When  they  returned,  they  were  wearing 
new  medals,  and  seemed  ashamed.  They  camped  out- 
side of  Saukenuk  for  several  days,  before  they  reported 
in  council.  The  man  they  had  been  sent  to  get  was 
not  with  them. 

Finally,  in  the  council  they  said  that  they  had  signed 
away  a  great  tract  of  land,  mostly  on  the  west  side  of 
the  Mississippi  above  St.  Louis,  in  order  to  buy  the 
warrior's  life;  they  had  been  drunk  when  they  signed 
— ^but  that  was  all  right.  However,  when  they  had 
signed,  the  warrior  was  let  out,  and  as  he  started  to 
come  to  them,  the  soldiers  had  shot  him  dead. 

They  still  were  not  certain  just  what  land  they  had 
signed  away.  That  made  the  council  and  people  angry. 
Black-hawk  called  the  chiefs  fools.  They  had  no  right 
to  sell  the  land  without  the  consent  of  the  council. 

184 


BLACK-HAWK  THE  SAC  PATRIOT 

After  this,  the  ** Missouri  band''  of  the  Sacs  kept  by 
themselves,  in  disgrace. 

It  was  too  late  to  do  anything  more  abont  the  treaty. 
The  United  States  had  it.  An  Indian  gets  only  one 
chance — and  Head  Chief  Pashepaho  himself  had  put 
his  mark  on  the  paper.  The  United  States  has  two 
chances:  the  first,  on  the  ground;  the  second,  when 
the  paper  is  sent  to  Washington. 

Later  it  was  found  that  Pashepaho  and  the  others 
had  signed  away  all  the  Sac  and  Fox  lands  east  of  the 
Mississippi  Eiver!  That  was  how  the  treaty  might 
be  made  to  read.  The  payment  for  many  millions  of 
acres  was  $2,234.54  down,  in  goods,  and  $1,000  a  year, 
in  other  goods. 

But  there  was  one  pleasing  clause.  As  long  as  the 
United  States  held  the  land,  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  might 
live  and  hunt  there.  Any  white  men  who  tried  to  come 
in  were  to  be  arrested  and  put  off. 

At  any  rate,  although  Black-hawk  raged  and  said 
that  the  treaty  was  a  false  treaty,  it  stood.  The 
United  States  officials  who  had  signed  it  were  men  of 
honest  names,  and  considered  that  they  had  acted 
fairly.    But  Black-hawk  never  admitted  that. 

The  United  States  was  to  erect  a  trading  post,  up 
the  Mississippi,  for  the  convenience  of  the  Sacs  and 
Foxes.  In  1808  soldiers  appeared  above  the  mouth  of 
the  Des  Moines  Eiver,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, in  southeastern  Iowa,  and  began  to  build. 

This  turned  out  to  be  not  a  trading  post  but  a  fort, 
named  Fort  Belle  Vue,  and  afterward.  Fort  Madison. 

The  Sacs  and  Foxes,  and  their  allies,  the  Potawato- 

185 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

mis  and  Winnebagos,  planned  to  destroy  it,  and  made 
attacks. 

Black-hawk  was  sore  at  the  Americans.  He  listened 
to  the  words  of  Tecumseh  and  the  Prophet,  accepted 
the  presents  of  the  British  agents  who  came  to  see  him, 
and  with  two  hundred  warriors  marched  to  help  the 
British  in  the  War  of  1812.  The  British  traders  had 
been  more  generous  with  the  Indians  than  the  Ameri- 
can traders.  Now  the  British  father  at  the  Lakes  sa- 
luted him  as  *  *  General  Black-hawk. ' ' 

Only  Black-hawk's  band  went.  All  the  other  Sacs 
and  Foxes  paid  attention  to  the  talk  of  Keokuk,  the 
Watchful  Fox,  who  was  the  Sac  peace  chief. 

Like  the  great  Cornstalk,  he  said  to  the  people  that 
if  they  were  bound  to  go  to  war,  they  should  first  put 
all  the  women  and  children  **into  the  long  sleep,  for 
we  enter  upon  a  trail  that  has  no  turn." 

He  was  called  a  coward  by  the  Black-hawk  band ;  but 
the  other  Sacs  and  Foxes  stayed  where  they  were. 

** General"  Black-hawk  fought  beside  General  Te- 
cumseh. He  asserted  that  he  was  in  the  big  battle 
when  Tecumseh  was  killed.  When  he  found  that  the 
Indians  had  nothing  to  gain  in  the  war,  he  came  home. 
He  had  done  wrong  to  go  at  all. 

Then  he  learned  that  a  young  man  whom  he  had 
adopted  as  a  son  had  been  murdered,  while  hunting, 
by  bad  whites.  They  had  seized  him,  tied  him,  killed 
him  and  scalped  him.  The  young  man  had  not  been  to 
war,  and  Black-hawk  could  see  no  reason  for  the  kill- 
ing. So  he  set  forth  in  revenge,  and  fought  a  battle 
with  the  United  States  Rangers. 

186 


BLACK-HAWK  THE  SAC  PATRIOT 

He  remained  unfriendly.  It  all  dated  back  to  the 
year  1804,  and  the  treaty  signed  by  Pashepaho,  by 
which  the  Sacs  had  lost  their  country. 

They  loved  this  country.  They  especially  loved 
Eock  Island,  in  the  Mississippi — ^where  today  is  located 
a  Government  arsenal. 

It  was  indeed  a  beautiful  island  for  them.  It  bore 
grapes  and  nuts,  and  they  called  it  their  garden.  In 
a  cave  there,  a  kind  spirit  dwelt,  who  blessed  the  land 
of  the  Indians.  The  spirit  had  white  wings,  like  a 
swan.  But  in  1816  the  United  States  built  Fort  Arm- 
strong right  on  top  of  the  cave,  and  the  good  spirit 
flew  away,  never  to  come  back.  The  guns  of  the  fort 
frightened  it. 

Black-hawk  himself  had  another  favorite  spot,  upon 
a  bluff  overlooking  the  Mississippi  Eiver  and  his  vil- 
lage of  Saukenuk.  Here  he  liked  to  sit.  It  is  still 
known  as  Black-hawk's  Watch  Tower. 

After  Fort  Armstrong  was  built,  and  the  United 
States  was  again  at  peace  with  the  other  white  nations, 
settlers  commenced  to  edge  into  this  Sac  country  of 
western  Illinois.  Although  by  another  treaty,  which 
Black-hawk  himself  had  signed,  the  treaty  of  1804  was 
re-pledged  by  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  this  all  was  United 
States  land,  and  no  settlers  had  any  rights  to  it. 

The  Indians  were  unable  to  put  the  settlers  off,  and 
trouble  arose.  Once  Black-hawk  was  taken,  in  the 
forest,  by  settlers  who  accused  him  of  shooting  their 
hogs ;  they  tore  his  gun  from  him,  and  beat  him  with 
sticks. 

This  was  such  a  disgrace  to  him,  that  he  painted  a 

187 


BOYS^     OBOOR     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

black  mark  on  his  face,  and  wore  the  mark  for  almost 
ten  years.     Only  a  scalp  could  wipe  it  off. 

The  white  trespassers  kept  coming  in.  They  re- 
spected nothing.  They  even  built  fences  around  the 
corn  jSelds  of  the  principal  Sac  village,  at  the  mouth 
of  Eock  Eiver ;  they  ploughed  up  the  grave-yard  there ; 
they  took  possession  of  Black-hawk's  own  lodge;  and 
when  in  the  spring  of  1828  the  Black-hawk  people  came 
back  from  their  winter  hunt,  they  found  that  forty 
of  their  lodges  had  been  burned. 

Up  to  this  time  none  of  the  land  had  been  put  on  the 
market  by  the  United  States.  But  the  Indian  agent 
was  trying  to  persuade  the  Sacs  to  move  across  the 
Mississippi,  into  Iowa.  That  was  for  their  own  good. 
The  white  settlers  were  using  whiskey  and  every  other 
means,  to  get  the  upper  hand. 

Chief  Keokuk  agreed  with  the  agent.  He  was  not 
of  the  rank  of  Black-hawk  and  the  Thunder  clan,  but 
he  had  fought  the  Sioux,  and  was  of  great  courage  and 
keen  mind  and  silver  tongue.  He  was  an  orator; 
Black-hawk  was  a  warrior. 

So  the  Sacs  split.  Keokuk — a  stout,  heavy-faced 
man — took  his  Sacs  across  into  the  country  of  the 
Foxes.  Black-hawk's  band  said  they  would  be  shamed 
if  they  gave  up  their  village  and  the  graves  of  their 
fathers. 

Black-hawk  visited  some  white  ^* chiefs"  (judges) 
who  were  on  Eock  Island.  He  made  complaint.  He 
said  that  he  wore  a  black  mark  on  his  face ;  but  that  if 
he  tried  to  avenge  the  black  mark,  by  striking  a  white 
man,  then  the  white  men  would  call  it  war.    He  said 

188 


BLACK-HAWK  THE  SAC  PATRIOT 

that  the  Sacs  dared  not  resent  having  their  lodges 
burned  and  their  corn  fields  fenced  and  their  women 
beaten,  and  the  graves  of  their  fathers  ploughed  up. 
*^Why  do  you  not  tell  the  President?'' 
**He  is  too  far  off.    He  cannot  hear  my  voice.'* 
*^Why  do  you  not  write  a  letter  to  him!" 
**It  would  be  written  by  white  men,  who  would  say 
that  we  told  lies.    Our  Great  Father  would  rather  be- 
lieve a  white  man,  than  an  Indian. ' ' 

The  two  judges  said  that  they  were  sorry  for  the 
Sacs,  but  could  do  nothing. 

Now  in  1829  the  settlers  were  so  anxious  to  keep  the 
Sac  lands  at  the  mouth  of  the  Rock  Eiver,  that  the 
Government  put  these  on  the  market.  This  would  dis- 
pose of  Black-hawk's  people,  for  they  would  have  no 
village.  Whether  the  other  lands  were  sold,  did  not 
matter. 

It  was  done  while  Black-hawk  and  his  men  and 
women  were  hunting.  On  their  return  to  plant  their 
crops,  they  learned  that  their  village  and  grave-yard 
had  been  sold  to  the  whites — the  most  of  whom  were 
already  there. 

So  the  white  people  had  won  out.  They  in  turn 
asked  protection,  of  the  Government,  from  **  General 
Black-hawk"  and  his  band.  The  Government  listened, 
and  ten  companies  of  regular  troops  were  sent  to  Rock 
Island  in  a  steamboat,  to  remove  the  Sacs,  *^dead  or 
alive,"  to  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi. 

A  council  was  held  with  Black-hawk  at  Fort  Arm- 
strong, on  Rock  Island.  Black-hawk  rose  to  speak. 
He  said  that  the  Sacs  never  had  sold  their  lands ;  it  had 

189 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

been  a  mistake,  and  that  they  were  bound  to  keep  their 
village. 

**Who  is  this  Black-hawk  r'  retorted  General  Ed- 
mund P.  Gaines,  the  commander  of  the  troops.  ^*Is 
he  a  chief?  By  what  right  does  he  appear  in  coun- 
ciir' 

Black-hawk  wrapped  his  blanket  around  him  and 
strode  angrily  out  of  the  council  room.  But  the  next 
morning  he  made  answer. 

**My  father,  you  asked  yesterday,  who  is  Black- 
hawk?  Why  does  he  sit  among  the  chiefs?  I  will  tell 
you  who  I  am.  I  am  a  Sac,  my  father  was  a  Sao — I 
am  a  warrior  and  so  was  my  father.  Ask  these  young 
men,  who  have  followed  me  to  battle,  and  they  will  tell 
you  who  Black-hawk  is.  Provoke  our  people  to  war, 
and  you  will  learn  who  Black-hawk  is.  ^ ' 

More  troops  were  called,  until  there  were  twenty-five 
hundred.  But  seeing  so  many  soldiers  marching, 
Black-hawk  took  all  his  people  and  camped  across  the 
Mississippi,  under  a  white  flag. 

After  this  Black-hawk  was  required  to  sign  another 
treaty,  which  made  him  say  that  he  had  tried  to  enlist 
the  Potawatomis,  Winnebagos  and  Kickapoos  in  a  war 
against  the  United  States.  It  did  not  mention  the  fact 
that  for  a  dozen  and  more  years  the  whites  had  been 
warring  upon  him  by  seizing  his  lands  and  ploughing 
his  fields  and  burning  his  lodges. 

The  paper  also  set  him  down  below  the  other  chiefs, 
who  had  left  their  lands.  It  set  him  below  Keokuk, 
and  the  Fox  chiefs — and  this  hurt  him  deeply.  All 
the  Sacs  and  Foxes  laughed  at  the  idea  of  Keokuk, 

190 


BLACK-HAWK  THE  SAC  PATRIOT 

and  his  lowly  clan,  being  placed  above  Black-hawk  and 
the  Thunder  clan. 

In  these  years  of  trouble,  the  Black-hawk  band  had 
killed  or  abused  no  white  settlers.  The  so-called 
**war,''  on  their  part,  had  been  a  war  of  words  and 
fences.    Now  they  soon  were  to  take  up  the  hatchet. 

They  had  been  expelled  over  the  river  in  this  year 
1831  too  late  for  planting  crops.  The  white  settlers 
declined  to  share  with  them,  from  the  fields  at  the  vil- 
lage of  Saukenuk.  One  night  some  of  the  Sacs  crossed 
**to  steal  roasting-ears  from  their  own  fields,''  as  they 
said.    They  were  shot  at  by  the  settlers,  and  driven  off. 

This  made  more  bad  feeling. 

Black-hawk  had  sent  his  head  warrior,  Nah-po-pe,  or 
Soup,  up  to  Canada,  to  ask  council  from  the  British 
** father"  there.  He  had  been  *^ General  Black-hawk" 
in  the  British  army,  and  thought  that  he  deserved  help. 

But  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  had  been 
at  peace  many  years.  The  British  father  told  Nahpope 
that  if  the  Sacs  never  had  sold  their  land,  of  course 
they  had  a  right  to  live  upon  it.     That  was  all. 

On  the  way  back,  Nahpope  stopped  to  see  Wa-bo-kie- 
shiek,  or  White  Cloud,  who  was  half  Sac  and  half 
Winnebago,  and  a  great  medicine-man  or  prophet. 
He  had  a  village  at  his  Prophet's  Town,  thirty-five 
miles  up  the  Eock  Eiver,  in  Illinois. 

White  Cloud  pretended  to  rival  the  Open  Door  of 
the  Shawnees.  He  fell  into  a  trance,  and  cut  several 
capers,  and  spoke  a  message  from  the  Great  Spirit. 
Let  Black-hawk  go  to  war.  The  Great  Spirit  would 
arouse  the  Winnebagos  and  the  Potawatomis  and  the 

191 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

British,  and  the  Americans  would  be  driven  away! 
White  Cloud  said  this  out  of  his  own  heart,  which  was 
black  toward  the  Americans. 

He  invited  Black-hawk  to  visit  him  and  the  Winne- 
bagos  and  the  Potawatomis,  raise  a  summer  crop  and 
talk  with  the  Great  Spirit. 

Much  rejoiced,  Nahpope  hastened  to  tell  the  news 
to  his  chief.  When  Keokuk  heard  it,  he  advised  Black- 
hawk  to  stay  at  home.  The  prophet  White  Cloud  was 
a  mischief  maker  and  a  liar. 

Black-hawk  was  inclined  to  listen,  and  to  wait  until 
he  was  more  certain  of  the  other  nations  who  might 
join  with  him.  But  the  young  men  of  his  band  were 
hot.  Unless  he  did  something,  Keokuk  would  appear 
to  be  stronger  than  he.  His  people  looked  to  him  to 
get  back  their  village  and  their  grave-yard.  The  black 
mark  on  his  face  had  not  been  wiped  off. 

None  of  Keokuk's  Sacs  or  the  Foxes  would  help  him. 
So  in  April  of  1832  he  took  his  men  and  their  families 
and  started  up  the  river  from  Fort  Madison,  Iowa,  for 
Eock  Eiver.  The  warriors  were  on  horses,  the  women 
and  children  in  canoes. 

By  the  last  treaty  that  he  had  signed.  Black-hawk 
had  promised  not  to  cross  to  the  east  side  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi without  the  permission  of  the  United  States. 
Now  he  said  that  he  was  going  up  the  Eock  Eiver,  to 
the  country  of  the  Winnebagos,  his  friends,  to  visit 
among  them  and  plant  corn  and  beans. 

On  the  way  up  the  Eock  Eiver  he  was  ordered  back, 
by  word  from  General  Henry  Atkinson,  commander  at 
Fort  Armstrong. 

192 


BLACK-HAWK  THE  SAC  PATRIOT 

Black-hawk  replied  that  he  had  a  right  to  travel 
peacefully,  the  same  as  white  persons.  He  was  going 
to  the  Winnebago  country,  for  the  summer. 

The  general  sent  another  word,  that  if  Black-hawk 
did  not  turn  around,  soldiers  would  make  him  turn 
around. 

Black-hawk  replied  that  he  was  at  peace  and  would 
stay  at  peace  unless  the  soldiers  attacked  him.  He 
told  his  men  not  to  fire  first. 

Pretty  soon  he  met  some  Winnebagos  and  Potawato- 
mis.  They  said  that  their  nations  never  had  sent  him 
any  message  talking  war.  They  wished  no  trouble 
with  the  United  States.    Wabokieshiek  had  lied. 

So  Black-hawk  decided  to  give  his  guests  a  dog- 
feast,  and  then  return  home.  He  was  an  old  man  of 
sixty-five,  and  he  was  too  weak  to  fight  alone.  He  was 
getting  tired. 

He  had  made  camp  one  hundred  miles  up  the  Eock 
Eiver,  near  Kishwaukee,  a  few  miles  below  present 
Eockford,  Illinois.  By  this  time,  early  in  May,  all 
Illinois  was  alarmed ;  the  regulars  and  militia  were  on 
his  trail.  They  gathered  at  Dixon,  about  forty  miles 
down  the  river  from  his  camp. 

Major  Isaac  Stillman  took  two  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  mounted  militia,  to  scout  for  Black-hawk.  They 
arrived  at  Sycamore  Creek,  within  eight  miles  of  him, 
and  did  not  see  his  camp.  But  Black-hawk  knew  that 
they  were  there. 

He  sent  out  three  young  men  with  a  white  flag,  to 
bring  the  American  chiefs  to  the  camp,  for  a  council; 
then  they  would  all  go  down-river  together.    He  sent 

193 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

out  five  young  men  to  follow  the  three,  and  see  what 
happened. 

Only  three  of  the  five  came  back.  The  three  with 
the  white  flag  had  been  taken  prisoners,  and  the  sol- 
diers had  chased  the  others  and  shot  two. 

Black-hawk  prepared  for  war.  He  had  but  forty 
men  with  him;  the  rest  were  out  hunting.  Presently 
here  came  all  the  white  soldiers,  galloping  and  yelling, 
to  ride  over  him.  They  were  foolish — they  seemed  to 
think  that  the  Sacs  would  run. 

But  Black-hawk  was  old  in  war.  He  laid  an  ambush 
— ^his  forty  warriors  waited,  and  fired  a  volley,  and 
charged  with  the  tomahaw^k  and  knife,  and  away  scur- 
ried the  soldiers  like  frightened  deer. 

They  fled  without  stopping  forty  miles  to  Dixon's 
Ferry.  They  reported  that  they  had  been  attacked  by 
fifteen  hundred  savages.  They  left  all  their  camp 
stuff.  Fourteen  soldiers  had  been  killed — but  no  In- 
dians, except  those  sent  by  Black-hawk  to  treat  for 
peace. 

**Stillmaii's  Eun,''  the  battle  was  called. 

Black-hawk  sat  down  to  smoke  a  pipe  to  the  Great 
Spirit,  and  give  thanks.  Two  of  the  flag-of-truce 
party  came  in.  They  had  escaped.  The  third  young 
man  had  been  shot  while  in  the  soldiers '  camp. 

The  Black-hawk  band  took  the  blankets  and  provi- 
sions left  in  the  soldiers'  camp,  and  proceeded  to  war 
m  earnest.  Of  what  use  was  a  white  flag?  They  sent 
away  their  families.  Some  Winnebagos,  hearing  of 
the  great  victory,  enlisted. 

Now  Black-hawk  was  much  feared.    General  Atkin- 

194 


BLACK-HAWK  THE  SAC  PATRIOT 

son  fortified  his  regulars  and  militia,  at  Dixon's  Ferry. 
More  volunteers  were  called  for,  by  the  governor  of 
Illinois.  The  Secretary  of  War  at  Washington  or- 
dered one  thousand  additional  regulars  to  the  scene, 
and  directed  General  Winfield  Scott  himself,  the  com- 
mander of  the  United  States  army  in  the  East,  to  lead 
the  campaign. 

For  a  little  war  against  a  few  Indians  there  were 
many  famous  names  on  the  white  man's  roll.  Among 
the  regulars  were  General  Scott,  later  the  commander 
in  the  war  with  Mexico ;  Colonel  Zachary  Taylor,  who 
had  defended  Fort  Harrison  from  Tecumseh — and 
probably  Black-hawk — in  the  war  of  1812,  and  who 
was  to  be  President ;  Lieutenant  Jefferson  Davis,  who 
became  president  of  the  Confederate  States ;  Lieuten- 
ant Albert  Sydney  Johnston,  who  became  a  Confeder- 
ate general;  Lieutenant  Robert  Anderson,  who  com- 
manded Fort  Sumter  in  1861;  and  among  the  volun- 
teers was  Captain  Abraham  Lincoln. 

Black-hawk  had  about  five  hundred  braves,  mainly 
Sacs  and  Foxes,  with  a  few  Winnebagos  and  Pota- 
watomis ;  but  when  twenty-five  hundred  soldiers  were 
chasing  him  through  the  settlements,  he  stood  little 
show. 

After  several  skirmishes,  and  one  or  two  bad  de- 
feats, his  people  were  eating  horse-flesh  and  bark  and 
roots.  To  save  them,  he  planned  to  go  down  the  Wis- 
consin River,  in  southwestern  Wisconsin,  and  cross 
the  Mississippi. 

He  put  his  women  and  children  and  the  old  men  on 
rafts  and  in  canoes.     They  started — ^but  soldiers  fired 

195 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

into  them,  from  the  banks,  killed  some  and  drove  the 
rest  into  the  forest.     Many  died  there,  from  hunger. 

Black-hawk  and  his  warriors,  and  other  women  and 
children,  had  cut  across  by  land.  When  they  came  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Bad  Axe  Eiver,  at  the  Mississippi 
above  the  Wisconsin,  the  armed  steamboat  Warrior 
met  them.     Sioux  were  upon  the  western  bank. 

Black-hawk  decided  to  surrender.  He  again  raised 
the  white  flag,  and  called  out  to  the  captain  of  the 
Warrior  that  he  wished  a  boat  sent  to  him,  so  that  he 
might  go  aboard  and  talk  peace. 

Perhaps  the  Winnebago  interpreter  on  the  Warrior 
did  not  translate  the  words  right.  At  any  rate,  the 
captain  of  the  Warrior  asserted  that  Black-hawk  was 
only  trying  to  decoy  him  into  ambush.  He  waited  fif- 
teen minutes,  to  give  the  Indian  women  and  children 
that  much  time  to  hide;  then  he  opened  on  the  white 
flag  with  canister  and  musketry.  The  first  cannon 
shot  **laid  out  three.*'    In  all,  he  killed  twenty-three. 

Black-hawk  fought  back,  but  he  could  not  do  very 
much  against  a  steamboat  in  the  river. 

So  he  had  been  unable  to  surrender,  or  to  cross  the 
Mississippi.  His  people  were  frightened,  and  sick 
with  hunger  and  wounds.  The  next  morning,  August 
2,  he  was  working  hard  to  get  them  ready  to  cross, 
w^hen  General  Atkinson's  main  army,  of  four  hundred 
regulars  and  nine  hundred  militia,  fell  upon  him  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Bad  Axe. 

The  Indian  women  plunged  into  the  Mississippi, 
with  their  babes  on  their  backs — some  of  them  caught 
hold  of  horses'  tails,  to  be  towed  faster ;  but  the  steam- 

196 


BLACK-HAWK  THE  SAC  PATRIOT 

boat  Warrior  was  waiting,  sharp-sliooters  on  shore 
espied  them,  and  only  a  few  escaped,  into  the  hands  of 
the  Sioux. 

In  two  hours  Black-hawk  lost  two  hundred  people, 
men  and  women  both;  the  white  army  lost  twenty- 
seven  in  killed  and  wounded. 

This  finished  Black-hawk.  He  got  away,  but  spies 
were  on  his  trail,  and  in  a  few  weeks  two  Winnebago 
traitors  captured  him  when  he  gave  himself  up  at  Fort 
Crawford,  Prairie  du  Chien,  Wisconsin. 

He  expected  to  die.  He  had  turned  his  medicine- 
bag  over  to  the  Winnebago  chief  at  the  village  of  La 
Crosse,  Wisconsin — and  he  never  got  it  back. 

He  made  a  speech  to  the  Indian  agent.  General 
Joseph  Street,  at  Prairie  du  Chien.    He  said : 

You  have  taken  me  prisoner  with  all  my  warriors.  I  am  much 
grieved,  for  I  expected  to  hold  out  much  longer  and  give  you  more 
trouble  before  I  surrendered.  I  tried  hard  to  bring  you  into  am- 
bush, but  your  last  general  understands  Indian  fighting. 

I  fought  hard,  but  your  guns  were  well  aimed.  The  bullets  flew 
like  bees  in  the  air,  and  whizzed  by  our  ears  like  wind  through  the 
trees  in  winter.  My  warriors  fell  around  me;  I  saw  my  evil  day  at 
hand.  The  sun  rose  dim  on  us  in  the  morning,  and  at  night  it  sank 
in  a  dark  cloud,  and  looked  like  a  ball  of  fire. 

That  was  the  last  sun  that  shone  on  Black-hawk.  His  heart  is 
dead.  He  is  now  a  prisoner  to  the  white  men ;  they  will  do  with  him 
as  they  wish.  But  he  can  stand  torture  and  is  not  afraid  of  death. 
He  is  no  coward.    Black-hawk  is  an  Indian. 

He  has  done  nothing  for  which  an  Indian  ought  to  be  ashamed. 
He  has  fought  for  his  people,  against  the  white  men,  who  have  come 
year  after  year  to  cheat  him  and  take  away  his  lands. 

You  know  the  cause  of  our  making  war.  It  is  known  to  all  white 
men.  They  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  it.  The  white  men  despise  the 
Indians  and  drive  them  from  their  homes. 

An  Indian  who  is  as  bad  as  the  white  men  could  not  live  in  our 

197 


BOYS'     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

nation;  be  would  be  put  to  deatb  and  be  eaten  up  by  the  wolves. 
The  white  men  are  poor  teachers ;  they  shake  us  by  the  hand,  to  make 
us  drunk,  and  fool  us.  We  told  them  to  let  us  alone,  but  they  fol- 
lowed us. 

Things  were  growing  worse.  There  were  no  deer  in  the  forests; 
the  springs  were  drying  up  and  our  women  and  children  had  no 
food.  The  spirits  of  our  fathers  arose  and  spoke  to  us,  to  avenge 
our  wrongs,  or  die. 

Black-hawk  is  satisfied.  He  will  go  to  the  land  of  spirits,  content. 
He  has  done  his  duty.  His  father  will  meet  him  there  and  praise 
him. 

He  is  a  true  Indian  and  disdains  to  cry  like  a  woman.  He  does 
not  care  for  himself.  He  cares  for  his  nation.  They  will  suffer. 
His  country-men  will  not  be  scalped ;  the  white  men  poison  the  heart. 
In  a  few  years  the  Indians  will  be  like  the  white  men,  and  nobody 
can  trust  them.     They  will  need  many  officers  to  keep  them  in  order. 

Goodby,  my  nation.  Black-hawk  tried  to  save  you.  He  drank 
the  blood  of  some  of  the  whites.  He  has  been  stopped.  He  can 
do  no  more. 

After  this,  Black-hawk  had  little  authority  among 
the  Sacs  and  Foxes.  They  respected  him,  but  they 
looked  only  to  Keokuk  for  orders  and  advice.  Keokuk 
was  made  rich  by  the  United  States,  as  reward;  he 
gave  out  the  goods  and  monies;  he  ruled,  for  he  had 
followed  the  peace  trail. 

The  Black-hawk  prisoners  were  put  in  charge  of 
Lieutenant  Jefferson  Davis,  at  Fort  Crawford.  Then 
they  were  sent  down  by  steamboat  to  Jefferson  Bar- 
racks, at  St.  Louis. 

There  were  Black-hawk,  his  two  sons — Nah-se-us-kuk 
or  Whirling  Thunder,  and  Wa-saw-me-saw  or  Bearing 
Thunder;  White  Cloud,  the  false  prophet;  Nahpope, 
the  head  brave ;  loway,  Pam-a-ho  or  Swimmer,  No-kuk- 
qua  or  Bear's-fat,  Pa-she-pa-ho  or  Little  Stabber;  and 
others. 

198 


BLACK-HAWK  THE  SAC  PATRIOT 

They  were  forced  to  wear  ball  and  chain. 

**Had  I  taken  the  White  Beaver  [who  was  General 
Atkinson]  prisoner,  I  would  not  have  treated  a  brave 
war  chief  in  this  manner,''  complained  Black-hawk. 

Keoknk,  the  successful,  was  kind  and  tried  to  get 
the  prisoners  freed.  But  they  were  sent  on  to  Wash- 
ington, to  see  the  President.  President  Andrew  Jack- 
son understood  Indians,  and  Black-hawk  was  pleased 
with  him. 

*'I  am  a  man;  you  are  another,''  he  greeted,  as  he 
grasped  President  Jackson's  hand. 

**We  did  not  expect  to  conquer  the  whites,"  he  ex- 
plained. **They  had  too  many  houses,  too  many  men. 
I  took  up  the  hatchet  to  avenge  the  injuries  to  my  peo- 
ple. Had  I  not  done  so,  they  would  have  said,  ^  Black- 
hawk  is  a  woman.  He  is  too  old  to  be  a  chief.  He  is 
no  Sac'  " 

From  the  last  of  April  until  June  4  the  Black-hawk 
party  was  kept  in  Fortress  Monroe,  Virginia.  Then 
the  Indians  were  started  home.  They  were  given  a 
long  tour,  to  show  them  the  power  of  the  United  States. 

They  stopped  at  Baltimore,  Philadelphia,  New  York, 
Albany,  Buffalo  and  Detroit.  The  white  people 
crowded  to  see  the  famous  Black-hawk  and  to  hear 
him  speak.  He  received  valuable  presents.  He  was 
treated  like  a  chief  indeed,  and  his  heart  was  touched. 

When  he  arrived  at  Fort  Armstrong  again,  on  Eock 
Island,  where  he  was  to  be  freed,  his  heart  had  some- 
what failed.  The  village  of  Saukenuk  had  long  ago 
been  leveled  in  ashes;  he  returned,  a  chief  without  a 
people. 

199 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

Keokuk  came,  to  attend  this  council,  and  to  receive 
him  back  into  the  nation.  Keokuk  arrived  riding 
grandly  in  two  canoes  lashed  side  by  side;  a  canopy 
over  him  and  his  wives  with  him,  and  medals  on  his 
breast. 

That  was  rather  different  from  ball  and  chain,  and 
old  Black-hawk's  head  sank  upon  his  chest.  He  felt 
as  bitter  as  Logan  the  Mingo  had  felt. 

Before  he  finally  settled  down  in  a  lodge  built  near 
lowaville  on  the  lower  Des  Moines  Eiver,  Iowa,  he 
made  other  trips  through  the  East.  Keokuk  went,  also 
— but  it  was  ** General  Black-hawk''  for  whom  the  peo- 
ple clamored. 

He  died  on  October  3,  1838,  at  his  home.  His  last 
speech  was  made  at  a  Fourth  of  July  banquet,  at  Fort 
Madison,  Iowa,  where  he  was  a  guest  of  honor. 

**Eock  River  was  a  beautiful  country.  I  liked  my 
towns,  my  corn-fields,  and  the  home  of  my  people.  I 
fought  for  it.  It  is  now  yours ;  keep  it  as  we  did.  It 
will  bear  you  good  crops. 

**I  once  was  a  great  warrior.  I  am  now  poor.  Keo- 
kuk put  me  down,  but  do  not  blame  him.  I  am  old. 
I  have  looked  upon  the  Mississippi  since  I  was  a  chikl. 
I  love  the  Great  Eiver.  I  look  upon  it  now.  I  shake 
hands  with  you,  and  I  hope  you  are  my  friends." 

These  were  some  of  his  words. 

He  was  seventy-one  when  he  died ;  a  spare,  wrinkled 
old  man  with  sharp,  fiery  face  and  flashing  eye.  He 
picked  out  his  grave — at  a  place  about  half  a  mile  from 
his  cabin,  where,  he  said,  he  had  led  his  Sacs  in  a  great 
battle  with  the  lowas. 

200 


BLACK-HAWK  THE  SAC  PATRIOT 

All  his  people,  and  the  neighboring  whites,  mourned 
him.  He  was  buried  sitting  up,  clad  in  the  uniform 
given  him  at  Washington,  by  the  Secretary  of  War. 
He  wore  three  medals,  from  President  Jackson,  ex- 
President  John  Quincy  Adams,  and  the  City  of  Boston. 
Between  his  knees  was  placed  a  cane  presented  to  him 
by  Henry  Clay,  the  statesman;  at  his  right  side  was 
placed  a  sword  presented  to  him  by  President  Jackson. 

All  his  best  things  were  buried  with  him.  They  in- 
cluded tobacco,  food  and  moccasins,  to  last  him  on  a 
three  days*  journey  to  spirit  land. 

The  grave  was  covered  by  a  board  roof.  A  United 
States  flag,  and  a  post  with  his  name  and  age  and 
deeds,  were  erected  over  him.  A  picket  fence  twelve 
feet  high  was  built  around  the  grave. 

He  left  an  old  wife — the  only  wife  that  he  had  ever 
taken.  He  thought  a  great  deal  of  her.  He  rarely 
drank  whiskey,  he  fought  it  among  his  people ;  he  was 
opposed  to  torture;  he  had  treated  prisoners  kindly; 
he  had  waged  war  in  defense,  as  he  believed,  of  his 
own  country ;  and  altogether  he  had  been  a  good  man 
in  his  Indian  way. 

His  bones  were  dug  up  by  a  white  doctor,  and  strung 
on  a  wire  to  decorate  an  office  in  Illinois.  Black- 
hawk's  sons  did  not  like  this,  and  had  the  bones  brought 
back.  They  were  stored  in  the  historical  collection  at 
Burlington,  where  in  1855  a  fire  burned  them. 

Black-hawk  probably  did  not  care  what  became  of  his 
old  bones.  He  was  done  with  them.  The  white  race 
had  over-flowed  the  land  that  he  loved,  and  the  bones 
of  his  fathers,  and  he  had  ceased  fighting. 

201 


CHAPTEE  XVI 

THE  BIRD-WOMAN  GUIDE  (1805-1806) 

SACAGAWEA  HELPS   THE   WHITE   MEN 

THIS  is  the  story  of  one  slight  little  Indian  woman, 
aged  sixteen,  who  opened  the  trail  across  the 
continent,  for  the  march  of  the  United  States  flag. 

When  in  March,  1804,  the  United  States  took  over 
that  French  Province  of  Louisiana  which  extended 
from  the  upper  Mississippi  River  west  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  a  multitude  of  Indians  changed  white 
fathers. 

These  Western  Indians  were  much  different  from  the 
Eastern  Indians.  They  were  long-hair  Indians,  and 
horse  Indians,  accustomed  to  the  rough  buffalo  chase, 
and  a  wide  range  over  vast  treeless  spaces. 

To  learn  about  them  and  their  country,  in  May,  1804, 
there  started  up  the  Missouri  River,  by  boats  from  St. 
Louis,  the  famed  Government  exploring  party  com- 
manded by  Captain  Meriwether  Lewis  and  Captain 
William  Clark. 

It  was  an  army  expedition:  twenty-three  enlisted 
men,  a  hunter,  a  squad  of  boatmen.  Captain  Clark's 
black  servant  York,  and  a  squad  of  other  soldiers  for 
an  escort  part  of  the  way.  In  all,  forty-three,  under 
the  two  captains. 

Their  orders  were,  to  ascend  the  Missouri  River  to 

202 


THE  BIRD-WOMAN  GUIDE 

its  head;  and,  if  possible,  to  cross  the  mountains  and 
travel  westward  still,  to  the  Columbia  Kiver  and  its 
mouth  at  the  Pacific  Ocean  of  the  Oregon  country. 

No  white  man  knew  what  lay  before  them,  for  no 
white  man  ever  had  made  the  trip.  The  trail  was  a 
trail  in  the  dark. 

This  fall  they  had  gone  safely  as  far  as  the  hewn- 
timber  towns  of  the  Mandan  Indians,  in  central  North 
Dakota;  here  they  wintered,  and  met  the  little  Bird- 
woman, 

Her  Indian  name  was  Sa-ca-ga-we-a,  from  two  Min- 
netaree  words  meaning  ^*bird*'  and  ** woman."  But 
she  was  not  a  Minnetaree,  who  were  a  division  of  the 
Sioux  nation,  living  in  North  Dakota  near  the  Man- 
dans.  She  was  a  Sho-sho-ni,  or  Snake,  woman,  from 
the  distant  Eocky  Mountains,  and  had  been  captured 
by  the  Minnetarees.  Between  the  Minnetarees  of  the 
plains  and  the  Snakes  of  the  mountains  there  was  al- 
ways war. 

Now  at  only  sixteen  years  of  age  she  was  the  wife 
of  Toussaint  Chaboneau,  a  leather-faced,  leather-clad 
French-Canadian  trader  living  with  the  Mandans.  He 
had  bought  her  from  the  Minnetarees — and  how  much 
he  paid  in  trade  is  not  stated,  but  she  was  the  daugh- 
ter of  a  chief  and  rated  a  good  squaw.  Toussaint  had 
another  wife ;  he  needed  a  younger  one.  Therefore  he 
bought  Sacagawea,  to  mend  his  moccasins  and  greet 
him  with  a  smile  for  his  heart  and  warm  water  for  his 
tired  feet.  His  old  wife  had  grown  rather  cross  and 
grunty. 

Chaboneau  was  engaged  as  interpreter,  this  winter, 

203 


BQYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

and  moved  over  to  the  white  camp.  Sacagawea  proved 
to  be  such  a  cheerful,  willing  little  woman  that  the  cap- 
tains and  the  men  made  much  of  her.  And  when,  in 
February,  a  tiny  boy  arrived  to  her  and  Toussaint, 
there  was  much  delight. 

A  baby  in  the  camp  helped  to  break  the  long  duU 
spell  of  forty-below-zero  weather,  when  two  suns  shone 
feebly  through  the  ice-crystaled  air. 

A  thousand  miles  it  was,  yet,  to  the  Eocky  or  Shin- 
ing Mountains,  by  the  river  trail.  In  the  Mandan 
towns,  and  in  the  American  camp,  Sacagawea  was  the 
only  person  who  ever  had  been  as  far  as  those  moun- 
tains. They  were  the  home  of  her  people,  but  nearly 
three  years  had  passed  since  she  had  been  taken  cap- 
tive by  the  Minnetarees. 

Could  she  still  speak  the  Snake  tongue  ?  Certainly  I 
Did  she  remember  the  trail  to  the  country  of  the 
Snakes!  Yes!  Was  there  a  way  across  the  moun- 
tains ?  Yes  I  Beyond  some  great  falls  in  the  Missouri 
there  was  a  gate,  by  which  the  Shoshonis  came  out  of 
the  mountains  to  hunt  the  buffalo  on  the  plains.  It 
was  there  that  she  had  been  captured  by  the  Minne- 
tarees. Would  the  Snakes  be  friendly  to  the  white 
men?  Yes,  unless  they  were  frightened  by  the  white 
men.  Would  she  like  to  go  back  to  her  own  people? 
Yes!    Yes! 

That  was  great  luck  for  Sacagawea,  but  it  was 
greater  luck  for  the  two  captains.  In  the  spring  they 
broke  camp,  and  taking  Chaboneau  as  interpreter  in 
case  that  the  hostile  Minnetarees  were  met,  and  little 
Sacagawea  to  spy  out  the  land  of  the  Snakes,  and  lit- 

204 


THE  BIRD-WOMAN  GUIDE 

tlest  Toussaint,  the  baby,  as  a  peace  sign  to  all  tribes, 
with  a  picked  party  of  thirty-one  the  two  captains 
started  on,  up  the  swollen  Missouri. 

They  made  no  mistake,  in  the  Bird-woman.  Of 
course  she  was  used  to  roughing  it ;  that  was  the  life 
of  an  Indian  woman — to  do  the  hard  work  for  the  men, 
in  camp  and  on  the  trail.  But  Sacagawea  early  showed 
great  good  sense. 

Her  husband  Chaboneau  almost  capsized  their  canoe, 
by  his  clumsiness.  She  neither  shrieked  nor  jumped ; 
but  calmly  reaching  out  from  it,  with  her  baby  tightly 
held,  she  gathered  in  the  floating  articles.  She  saved 
stuff  of  much  value,  and  the  captains  praised  her. 

*^ She's  a  better  man  than  her  husband,''  asserted 
the  admiring  soldiers. 

After  hard  travel,  fighting  the  swift  current,  the 
strong  winds,  storms  of  rain  and  sleet,  and  monster 
grizzly  bears,  the  expedition  arrived  at  the  Great 
Falls,  as  the  Bird- woman  had  promised. 

She  had  ridden  and  waded  and  trudged,  like  the  rest. 
She  had  carried  her  baby  on  her  back,  and  had  built 
the  fires  for  her  husband,  and  cooked  his  meals,  and 
kept  right  along  with  the  men,  and  had  not  complained 
nor  lagged. 

At  the  Great  Falls  she  was  not  so  certain  of  the  best 
route.  This  was  a  strange  country  to  her,  although 
she  had  known  that  the  Falls  were  here.  The  Shining 
Mountains  were  in  sight;  the  land  of  the  Shoshonis 
lay  yonder,  to  the  southwest.    All  right. 

The  captains  chose  what  seemed  to  be  the  best  route 
by  water,  and  headed  on,  to  the  southwest.    Sacagawea 

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BOYS'     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

gazed  anxiously,  riglat,  left,  and  before.  Her  heart 
was  troubled.  She  not  only  much  desired  to  find  her 
people,  for  herself,  but  she  desired  to  help  the  great 
captains.  **The  fate  of  the  whole  party"  depended 
upon  her — and  she  was  just  a  slight  little  Indian 
woman! 

The  Snakes  did  not  come  down,  by  this  way.  It  was 
too  far  north ;  it  was  the  haunts  of  their  enemies  the" 
Blackfeet  and  the  Minnetarees,  of  whom  they  were 
deathly  afraid.  They  were  a  timid  mountain  folk, 
poorly  armed  to  fight  the  Sioux,  who  had  obtained  guns 
from  traders  down  the  Missouri. 

After  a  time  the  river  narrowed  still  more,  and  be- 
tween rough  banks  poured  out  from  a  canyon  of  high 
cliffs,  black  at  their  base  and  creamy  yellow  above. 

**The  Gate  of  the  Mountains,  ain't  it?''  passed  the 
hopeful  word.  Sacagawea  agreed.  She  had  heard  of 
this  very  **gate,'*  where  the  river  burst  into  the  first 
plains. 

^^When  we  come  to  the  place  where  the  river  splits 
into  three  parts,  that  is  Shoshoni  country — my  people 
will  be  there." 

On  forged  the  boats,  poled  and  hauled  and  rowed, 
while  the  men's  soggy  moccasins  rotted  into  pieces, 
and  the  mosquitoes  bit  fiercely.  The  two  captains  ex- 
plored by  land.  Hunting  was  forbidden,  lest  the  re- 
ports of  the  guns  alarm  the  Snakes. 

Abandoned  Indian  camp-sites  were  found,  but  the 
big-horn  sheep  peered  curiously  down  from  the  tops 
of  the  cliffs  along  the  river,  and  that  was  not  a  good 
sign.    The  game  was  too  tame. 

206 


THE  BIRD-WOMAN  GUIDE 

Captain  Clark  the  Eed  Head  took  the  advance,  by 
land,  to  look  for  the  Indians.  Captain  Lewis,  the 
young  Long  Knife  Chief,  commanded  the  boats. 
Small  United  States  flags  were  erected  in  the  bows  of 
each,  as  a  peace  signal. 

The  boats  reached  an  open  place,  where  the  river  did 
indeed  split  into  several  branches. 

*^The  Three  Forks,"  nodded  Sacagawea,  brightly. 
*  *  These  are  the  Three  Forks.  We  are  on  the  right  trail 
to  the  land  of  my  people.    Now  I  know. ' ' 

The  party  proceeded  at  top  speed.  The  southwest 
fork  seemed  to  be  the  best,  for  boating.  The  stream 
shallowed.  At  the  next  camp  Sacagawea  was  more  ex- 
cited. 

^'She  say  here  in  dis  spot  is  where  de  Snake  camp 
was  surprise^  by  de  Minnetaree,  five  years  ago,  an' 
chase'  into  de  timber,"  announced  Drouillard  the 
hunter.  *  *  De  Minnetaree  keel  four  warrior  an '  capture 
four  boy  an'  all  de  women.  She  was  capture'  here, 
herself." 

Hurrah!  the  trail  was  getting  warm.  The  canoes 
had  to  be  hauled  by  tow-lines,  with  Sacagawea  proudly 
riding  in  one  of  them  and  helping  to  fend  off  with  a 
pole.  She  had  not  been  here  since  she  was  a  girl  of 
eleven  or  twelve,  but  she  caught  more  landmarks. 

'*Dat  is  w'at  ze  Snake  call  ze  Beaver's  Head,"  pro- 
claimed Chaboneau,  whose  feet  had  given  out.  *'Ze 
Snake  spen'  deir  summer  'cross  ze  mountains  n^s'  ze 
odder  side.  She  t'ink  we  sure  to  meet  some  on  dis 
side,  to  hunt  ze  boof 'lo.  Mebbe  furder  up  one  leetle 
way." 

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BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

Captain  Lewis  took  three  men  and  struck  out,  to  find 
an  Indian  trail  and  follow  it  into  the  mountains. 

**I'll  not  come  back  until  I've  met  with  the  Snakes/' 
he  asserted. 

He  was  gone  a  long  time.  The  shallow  river,  full  of 
rapids  and  shoals,  curved  and  forked  and  steadily 
shrank.  But  although  Sacagawea  eagerly  peered,  and 
murmured  to  herself,  no  Indians  appeared. 

The  water  was  icy  cold,  from  the  snow  range.  This 
was  middle  August,  in  extreme  southwestern  Mojn- 
tana  (a  high  coimtry).  The  nights  were  cold,  too. 
Game  grew  scarce.  Three  thousand  miles  had  been 
logged  off,  from  St.  Louis.  Unless  the  company  could 
get  guides  and  horses  from  the  Snakes,  and  travel 
rapidly,  they  would  be  stuck,  for  the  winter — likely 
enough  starve ;  at  any  rate  be  forced  to  quit. 

By  August  16  Captain  Lewis  had  not  returned. 
Captain  Clark  set  out  afoot,  with  Sacagawea  and  Cha- 
boneau,  to  w^alk  across  country.  The  Snakes  simply 
must  be  found. 

The  toiling  boats  rounded  a  great  bend,  and  a  shout 
arose. 

** There's  Clark!    He's  sighted  Injuns,  hasn't  he!" 

*  *  So  has  Sacagawea !    Sure  she  has !    See  ? ' ' 

*  *  Injuns  on  horseback,  boys !    Hooray ! ' ' 

For  Captain  Clark,  yonder  up  the  curve,  was  holding 
high  his  hand,  palm  front,  in  the  peace  sign.  Sacaga- 
w^ea  had  run  ahead,  little  Toussaint  bobbing  in  the  net 
on  her  back ;  she  danced  as  she  ran ;  she  ran  back  again 
to  him,  sucking  her  fingers. 

**Dat  mean  she  see  her  own  peoples!"  panted  Cru- 

208 


THE  BIRD-WOMAN  GUIDE 

zatte  the  chief  boatman,  who  was  a  trapper  and  trader, 
too,  and  knew  Indians.  **Dere  dey  come,  on  de  hoss. 
Hooray!'' 

**Hooray!" 

What  a  relief !  The  Indians  were  prancing  and  sing- 
ing. They  made  the  captain  mount  one  of  the  horses, 
and  all  hustled  on,  for  an  Indian  camp. 

By  the  time  that  the  hurrying  canoes  arrived,  Sa- 
cagawea  and  another  woman  had  rushed  into  each 
other's  arms.  Presently  they  and  the  captain  and 
Chaboneau  had  entered  a  large  lodge,  built  of  willow 
branches.  The  Captain  Lewis  squad  was  here,  too. 
The  men  had  come  down  out  of  the  mountains,  by  a 
pass,  with  the  Snakes.  The  Snakes  had  been  afraid  of 
them — the  first  white  men  ever  seen  by  the  band.  Old 
Drouillard  the  hunter  had  argued  with  them  in  the 
sign  language  and  with  a  few  Shoshoni  words  that  he 
knew. 

It  had  looked  like  war — it  had  looked  like  peace — 
and  it  had  looked  like  war,  and  death,  again.  Finally, 
before  he  could  persuade  them,  the  captain  had  de- 
livered over  his  guns,  and  had  promised  them  to  be 
their  prisoner  if  they  did  not  find,  down  below,  one  of 
their  own  women  acting  as  the  white  men's  guide. 

But  now  aU  was  well.  The  token  of  Sacagawea 
saved  the  day.  The  other  woman,  whom  she  hugged, 
had  been  captured  by  the  Minnetarees,  at  the  same  time 
with  herself,  and  had  escaped. 

And  the  chief  of  the  band  was  Sacagawea  ^s  brother. 
He  had  mourned  her  as  dead,  but  now  he  and  she  wept 
together  under  a  blanket.    Truly,  he  had  reason  to  be 

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BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

grateful  to  these  white  strangers  who  had  treated  her 
so  well. 

Much  relieved  by  this  good  fortune  at  last,  the  cap- 
tains bought  horses  and  hired  guides.  The  Snakes 
were  very  friendly;  even  engaged  not  to  disturb  the 
canoes,  which  were  sunk  with  rocks  in  the  river  to 
await  the  return  trip. 

There  was  little  delay.  The  mountains  should  be 
crossed  at  once,  before  winter  closed  the  trails.  To 
the  surprise  and  delight  of  all  the  company,  Sacagawea 
announced  that  she  was  going  with  them,  to  see  the 
Great  Salt  Water.  Somehow,  she  preferred  the  white 
men  to  her  own  people.  She  had  been  weeping  con- 
stantly. Most  of  her  relatives  and  old  friends  had  died 
or  had  been  killed,  during  her  absence.  Her  new 
friends  she  loved.  They  were  a  wonderful  set,  these 
white  men — and  the  Bed  Head,  Captain  Clark,  was  the 
finest  of  all. 

Six  horses  had  been  bought.  Five  were  packed  with 
the  supplies;  Sacagawea  and  little  Toussaint  were 
mounted  upon  the  sixth,  and  the  whole  company,  es- 
corted by  the  Snakes,  marched  over  the  pass  to  Chief 
Ca-me-ah- wait's  principal  camp. 

From  there,  with  twenty-seven  horses  and  one  mule, 
with  the  happy  Bird-woman  and  the  beady-eyed  Tous- 
saint, the  two  captains  and  their  men  took  the  trail  for 
the  Great  Salt  Water,  one  thousand  miles  toward  the 
setting  sun.  Ah,  but  a  tough  trail  that  proved,  across 
the  Bitter  Boot  Mountains;  all  up  and  down,  with 
scarcely  a  level  spot  to  sleep  on ;  with  the  snow  to  the 
horses'  bellies  and  the  men's  thighs;  with  the  game 

210 


THE  BIRD-WOMAN  GUIDE 

failing,  until  even  a  horse's  head  was  treasured  as  a 
tidbit. 

And  the  Bird-woman,  riding  in  the  exhausted  file, 
never  complained,  but  kept  her  eyes  fixed  to  the  low 
country  and  the  big  river  and  the  Great  Salt  Water. 

Once,  in  the  midst  of  starvation,  from  her  dress  she 
fished  out  a  small  piece  of  bread  that  she  had  carried 
clear  from  the  Mandan  towns.  She  gave  it  to  Captain 
Clark,  that  he  might  eat  it.  A  brave  and  faithful  heart 
had  Sacagawea. 

Struggling  down  out  of  the  mountains,  at  the  end 
of  September,  they  changed  to  canoes.  The  Pierced 
Noses,  or  Nez  Perces  Indians,  were  friendly ;  and  now, 
on  to  the  Columbia  and  thence  on  to  the  sea,  Sacagawea 
was  the  sure  charm.  For  when  the  tribes  saw  the 
strange  white  warriors,  they  said,  **This  cannot  be  a 
war  party.  They  have  a  squaw  and  a  papoose.  We 
will  meet  with  them." 

That  winter  was  spent  a  few  miles  back  from  the 
Pacific,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  Kiver  in  pres- 
ent Washington. 

Only  once  did  the  Bird- woman  complain.  The  ocean 
was  out  of  sight  from  the  camp.  Chaboneau,  her  hus- 
band, seemed  to  think  that  she  was  made  for  only  work, 
work,  work,  cooking  and  mending  and  tending  baby. 

**You  stay  by  ze  lodge  fire.  Dat  is  place  for 
womans,''  he  rebuked.  Whereupon  Sacagawea  took 
the  bit  in  her  teeth  (a  very  unusual  thing  for  a  squaw 
to  do)  and  went  straight  to  Captain  Clark,  her  friend. 

**What  is  the  matter,  Sacagawea  f 

She  had  been  crying  again. 

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BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

**I  come  a  long  way,  capitin.  I  carry  my  baby,  I 
cold,  hungry,  wet,  seeck,  I  come  an'  I  no  care.  I  show 
you  trail;  I  say  *  Snake  peoples  here,'  an'  you  find 
Snakes.  You  get  bosses,  food,  guide.  When  Indians 
see  me  an'  my  Toussaint,  dey  say  *Dis  no  war  party,' 
an'  dey  kind  to  you.  When  you  get  hungry  for  bread, 
I  gif  you  one  leetle  piece  dat  I  carry  all  de  way  from 
Mandan  town.  I  try  to  be  good  woman.  I  work  hard, 
same  as  mens.  Now  I  been  here  all  dis  time,  near  de 
salt  water  dat  I  trabble  many  days  to  see — an'  I  not 
see  it  yet.  Dere  is  a  beeg  fish,  too.  Odders  go  see — I 
stay.  Nobody  ask  Sacagawea.  My  man  he  say  *You 
tend  baby ! '  I — I  feel  bad,  capitin. ' '  And  she  hid  her 
face  in  her  blanket. 

**By  gracious,  go  you  shall,  Sacagawea,  and  see  the 
salt  water  and  the  big  fish,"  declared  Captain  Clark. 
**Chaboneau  can  stay  home  and  tend  baby !" 

However,  the  Bird-woman  took  little  Toussaint,  of 
course ;  and  they  two  viewed  in  wonderment  the  rolling, 
surging,  thundering  ocean;  and  the  immense  whale, 
one  hundred  and  five  feet  long,  that  had  been  cast 
ashore.  It  is  safe  to  assert  that  to  the  end  of  her  days 
Sacagawea  never  forgot  these  awesome  sights. 

In  the  spring  of  1806  the  homeward  journey  was  be- 
gun. On  the  Missouri  side  of  the  mountains  the  Bird- 
woman  was  detailed  to  help  Captain  Clark  find  a  sep- 
arate trail,  to  the  Yellowstone  Eiver. 

And  this  she  did,  in  splendid  fasliion;  for  when  the 
party  knew  not  which  way  was  the  best  way,  out  of  the 
surrounding  hills,  to  the  plains,  she  picked  the  land- 
marks; and  though  she  had  not  been  here  in  many 

212 


THE  BIRD-WOMAN  GUIDE 

years,  she  showed  the  gap  that  led  over  and  down  and 
brought  them  straight  to  the  sunken  canoes. 

On  August  14  the  whole  company  was  at  the  Mandan 
towns  once  more.  After  her  absence  of  a  year  and  a 
half,  and  her  journey  of  six  thousand  miles,  bearing 
little  Toussaint  (another  great  traveler)  Sacagawca 
might  gaily  hustle  ashore,  to  entertain  the  other  women 
with  her  bursting  budget  of  stories. 

The  captains  offered  to  take  Chaboneau  and  Sacaga- 
wea  and  Toussaint  on  down  to  St.  Louis.  The  Bird- 
woman  would  gladly  have  gone.  She  wanted  to  learn 
more  of  the  white  people's  ways.  She  wanted  to  be 
white,  herself. 

But  Chaboneau  respectfully  declined.  He  said  that 
it  would  be  a  strange  country,  and  that  he  could  not 
make  a  living  there ;  later,  he  might  send  his  boy,  to  be 
educated  by  the  captains.     That  was  all. 

So  he  was  paid  wages  amounting  to  five  hundred 
dollars  and  thirty-three  cents.  Sacagawea  was  paid 
nothing.  The  captains  left  her  to  her  Indian  life,  and 
she  followed  them  only  with  her  heart. 

Nevertheless,  she  did  see  her  great  Red  Head  Chief 
again.  Captain  Clark  was  appointed  by  the  President 
as  Indian  agent  with  headquarters  in  St.  Louis.  He 
was  a  generous,  whole-souled  man,  was  this  russet- 
haired  William  Clark,  and  known  to  all  the  Indians  of 
the  plains  as  their  stanch  friend. 

So  it  is  probable  that  he  did  not  forget  Sacagawea, 
his  loyal  Bird-woman.  In  1810  she,  the  boy  Toussaint, 
and  Chaboneau,  visited  in  St.  Louis.  In  1811  they 
were  on  their  way  up-river,  for  the  Indian  country. 

213 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

Life  among  the  white  people  had  proved  too  much  for 
the  gentle  Sacagawea.  She  had  tried  hard  to  live  their 
way,  but  their  way  did  not  agree  with  her.  She  had 
sickened,  and  she  longed  for  the  lodges  of  the  Sho- 
shonis.  Chaboneau,  too,  had  become  weary  of  a  civil- 
ized life. 

Sacagawea  at  last  returned  to  her  **home  folks"  the 
Snakes.  No  doubt  Chaboneau  went  w^ith  her.  But 
there  is  record  that  he  was  United  States  interpreter, 
in  1837,  on  the  upper  Missouri;  and  that  he  died  of 
small-pox  among  the  Mandans,  soon  afterward. 

The  Bird-woman  out-lived  him.  She  and  her  boy 
removed  with  the  Snakes  to  the  Wind  River  reserva- 
tion, Wyoming;  and  there,  near  Fort  Washakie,  the 
agency,  she  died  on  April  9,  1884,  aged  ninety-six 
years,  and  maybe  more. 

A  brass  tablet  marks  her  grave.  A  mountain  peak 
in  Montana  has  been  named  Sacagawea  Peak.  A 
bronze  statue  of  her  has  been  erected  in  the  City  Park 
of  Portland,  Oregon.  Another  statue  has  been  erected 
in  the  state  capitol  at  Bismarck,  North  Dakota. 

So,  although  all  the  wages  went  to  her  husband,  she 
knows  that  the  white  people  of  the  great  United  States 
remember  the  loving  services  of  the  brave  little  Bird- 
woman,  who  without  the  promise  of  pay,  helped  carry 
the  Flag  to  the  Pacific. 


214 


CHAPTER  XVn 
THE  LANCE  OF  MAHTOTOHPA  (1822-1837) 
HERO  TALES  BY  FOUR  BEARS  THE  MANDAN* 

WHILE  the  United  States  was  getting  acquainted 
with  the  Western  Indians,  there  lived  among 
the  Mandans  in  the  north  a  most  noted  hero — the  chief 
Mah-to-toh-pa,  or  Four  Bears. 

Young  Captain  Lewis  the  Long  Knife  Chief,  and 
stout  Captain  Clark  the  Eed  Head,  who  with  their 
exploring  party  wintered  among  the  Mandans  in  1804- 
1 805,  and  enlisted  the  Snake  Bird-woman  as  guide,  were 
the  first  white  men  to  write  a  clear  account  of  the  curi- 
ous Mandans ;  but  they  did  not  tell  the  half. 

For  a  curious  people  indeed  were  these  Mandans, 
dwelling  in  two  villages  on  the  Missouri  Eiver  above 
present  Washburn  in  central  North  Dakota. 

They  were  polite,  hospitable,  and  brave.  Their 
towns  were  defended  by  ditches  and  loose  timber  pali- 
sades, not  tight  like  those  of  the  Iroquois  and  Hurons. 
Their  houses  were  circular;  of  an  earthern  floor  sunk 
two  feet,  and  heavy  six-foot  logs  set  on  end  inside  the 
edge  of  it,  with  a  roof  of  timbers,  woven  willow,  and 
thick  mud-plaster;  with  a  sunken  fire-place  under  a 
hole  in  the  center  of  the  roof,  and  with  bunks,  screened 
by  elk-hides  or  buif  alo-robes,  along  the  walls. 

These  houses  were  large  enough  to  shelter  twenty  to 

215 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

forty  persons;  the  roofs  were  favorite  loafing  spots, 
for  men,  women,  and  dogs. 

The  Mandans  formed  a  happy,  talkative  people,  of 
strange  appearance,  but  exceedingly  clean,  fond  of 
bathing,  either  in  the  river  or  in  wicker  tubs.  Their 
hair  was  heavy,  sometimes  reached  to  the  ground,  and 
was  black,  brown,  and  frequently  gray  or  pure  white 
even  on  the  young.  Their  eyes  were  likely  to  be  hazel, 
blue  or  gray,  instead  of  black ;  their  skin  almost  white. 
They  made  glassy  clay  vases  and  bowls,  and  remark- 
able blue  glass  beads.  In  fact,  they  seemed  to  have 
white  manners,  white  arts,  and  white  blood.  Eumor 
asserted  that  they  were  partly  Welsh,  descended  from 
the  lost  colony  of  the  "Welsh  prince,  Madoc. 

Now  this  Madoc,  a  prince  of  the  early  Welsh  people, 
set  sail  about  the  year  1180,  with  ten  ships,  to  found  a 
colony  in  a  new  Western  continent  that  he  claimed  to 
have  discovered. 

He  never  was  heard  from.  He  and  his  ten  ship- 
loads vanished.  But  if  he  reached  North  America,  and 
traveled  inland,  to  be  swallowed  up  amidst  the  red 
blood,  the  strange  Mandans  may  have  been  the  proof  of 
his  arrival. 

Their  round  boats,  of  bowl-like  wicker-work  covered 
with  hide,  and  their  way  of  dipping  the  paddle  from 
the  front  instead  of  from  the  rear,  were  exactly  the 
Welsh  method  of  canoe  travel. 

In  the  days  of  Mah-to-toh-pa  the  Mandans  numbered 
two  thousand,  in  two  towns  allied  with  the  towns  of  the 
Minnetarees.  They  were  beset  by  the  tough,  winter- 
traveling  Assiniboins  to  the  north,  and  by  the  treacher- 

216 


THE  LANCE  OF  MAHTOTOHPA 

ous  Arikarees  and  the  bold  Sioux  to  the  south.  There- 
fore when  in  1833  the  wandering  artist  George  Catlin 
of  Pennsylvania,  who  spent  eight  years  painting  In- 
dians in  their  homes  all  the  way  from  Florida  to  the 
Eocky  Mountains,  made  a  long  stay  among  the  Man- 
dans,  they  rejoiced  him  by  their  brave  tales  as  well  as 
with  their  curious  habits. 

According  to  all  the  reports,  the  **  bravest  of  the 
braves''  in  the  Mandan  towns  was  Mahtotohpa;  second 
chief  by  rank,  but  first  of  all  by  deeds.  **Free,  gener- 
ous, elegant,  and  gentlemanly  in  his  deportment — 
handsome,  brave  and  valiant,'*  says  Artist  Catlin. 
Such  words  speak  well  for  Four  Bears,  but  not  a  bit 
too  well. 

Before  he  arrived  at  the  Artist  Catlin  lodge  to  have 
his  portrait  painted,  the  warning  ran  ahead  of  him: 
** Mahtotohpa  is  coming  in  full  dress!"  He  w^as  es- 
corted by  a  great  throng  of  admiring  women  and  chil- 
dren. Now  it  was  twelve  o  'clock  noon,  and  he  had  been 
since  early  morning  getting  ready,  so  as  to  appear  as 
befitted  a  noble  chief. 

His  dress  was  complete:  shirt,  leggins,  moccasins, 
head-dress,  necklace,  belt,  robe,  medicine-bag,  tobacco 
sack,  pipe,  quiver,  bow,  knife,  lance,  shield,  tomahawk 
and  war-club.  And  as  he  proudly  stood  erect,  waiting, 
he  made  a  splendid  sight. 

His  shirt  was  mountain-sheep  skins,  one  before,  one 
behind,  sewed  together  at  their  edges.  They  were  em- 
broidered with  porcupine  quills  brightly  dyed,  and 
fringed  with  the  black  scalp-locks  of  the  enemies  whom 
he  had  slain  in  combat,  and  tasseled  with  ermine  tails. 

217 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

They  were  pictured  with  his  deeds,  painted  in  sign 
language. 

The  leggins  were  of  finely  dressed  deer-skin,  worked 
with  the  porcupine  quills,  fringed  with  the  scalp-locks, 
and  fitting  tightly  from  moccasins  to  thighs. 

The  moccasins  were  of  buck-skin,  armored  with  the 
dyed  quills. 

The  head-dress  was  a  crest  of  two  polished  buffalo 
horns  set  in  a  thick  mat  of  ermine,  from  which  fell 
clear  to  his  heels  a  ridgy  tail  of  countless  eagle  plumes 
also  set  in  the  ermine  fur. 

The  necklace  was  of  fifty  grizzly-bear  claws,  strung 
from  otter  skin. 

The  belt  was  of  tanned  buck-skin,  supporting  toma- 
hawk and  broad-bladed  scalping  knife  with  elk-horn 
haft. 

The  robe  slung  from  his  shoulders  like  a  Roman  toga 
was  the  softened  hide  of  a  young  buffalo  bull  worn  fur 
side  in ;  and  on  the  white  skin  side  all  the  battles  of  his 
life  had  been  painted. 

The  medicine-bag  was  a  beaver  skin,  ornamented 
with  hawk-bills  and  ermine.  He  held  it  in  his  right 
hand. 

His  tobacco  sack  was  of  otter  skin  decorated  with 
porcupine  quills.  In  it  were  dried  red- willow  bark, 
flint  and  steel,  and  tinder. 

His  pipe  was  of  curiously  carved  red  pipe-stone  from 
the  peace  quarries  in  present  Minnesota.  The  stem 
was  ash,  three  feet  long,  wound  with  porcupine  quills 
to  form  pictures  of  men  and  animals;  decorated  with 
wood-peckers'  skins  and  heads,  and  the  hair  of  the 

218 


THE  LANCE  OF  MAHTOTOHPA 

white  buffalo's  tail.  It  was  half  painted  red,  and 
notched  for  the  years  of  his  life. 

His  quiver  was  of  panther  skin  and  filled  with 
arrows,  flint  pointed  and  steel  pointed,  and  some 
bloody. 

His  bow  was  of  strips  of  elk-horn  polished  white, 
cemented  with  glue  of  buffalo  hoof,  and  backed  with 
deer  sinews  to  give  it  spring.  Three  months  had  been 
required  to  make  it.     There  was  none  better. 

His  lance  had  a  deadly  two-edge  steel  blade,  stained 
with  the  dried  blood  of  Sioux  and  Arikaree  and  Chey- 
enne and  Assiniboin.  The  six-foot  ashen  shaft  was 
strung  with  eagle  feathers. 

His  shield  was  the  hide  from  a  buffalo's  neck,  hard- 
ened with  hoof  glue.  Its  center  was  a  pole-cat  skin; 
its  edges  were  fringed  with  eagle  feathers  and  antelope 
hoofs  that  rattled. 

His  battle-axe  was  of  hammered  iron  blade  and  skull- 
pecker,  with  ash  handle  four  feet  long  and  deer-sinew 
grip.    Eagle  feathers  and  fur  tufts  decorated  it. 

His  war-club  was  a  round  stone  wrapped  in  raw-hide 
at  the  end  of  a  cow-tail,  like  a  policeman's  billy. 

After  his  portrait  was  painted,  Mahtotohpa  spread 
out  his  wonderful  robe,  and  told  the  stories  of  the 
twelve  battles  and  the  fourteen  scalps  pictured  on  it  by 
his  own  hand;  and  these  stories  included  that  of  his 
Arikaree  lance,  and  Cheyenne  knife. 

The  lance  story  came  about  in  this  way.  In  the 
shaft  of  the  lance,  near  the  blade,  there  had  been  set  an 
antelope  prong;  and  when  Mahtotohpa  posed  for  his 
portrait,  with  the  butt  of  the  lance  proudly  planted  on 

219 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

the  ground,  he  carefully  balanced  an  eagle  feather 
across  this  prong. 

**Do  not  omit  to  paint  that  feather  exactly  as  it  is," 
he  said,  **and  the  spot  of  blood  upon  it.  It  is  great 
medicine,  and  belongs  to  the  Great  Spirit,  not  to  me.  I 
pulled  it  from  the  wound  of  an  enemy.'' 

**Why  do  you  not  tie  it  to  the  lance,  thenT' 

'*Hush!''  rebuked  Mahtotohpa.  '*If  the  Great 
Spirit  had  wished  it  to  be  tied  on,  it  would  never  have 
come  off.'' 

Whereupon,  presently,  he  told  the  story  of  the  mighty 
lance.  This  had  been  the  lance  of  a  famous  Arikaree 
warrior,  Won-ga-tap.  Some  years  back,  maybe  seven 
or  eight,  the  Mandans  and  the  Arikarees  had  met  on 
horses  near  the  Mandan  towns,  and  had  fought.  The 
Mandans  chased  the  Arikarees,  but  after  the  chase  the 
brother  of  Mahtotohpa  did  not  come  in. 

Several  days  passed ;  and  when  Mahtotohpa  himself 
found  his  brother,  it  was  only  the  body,  scalped  and  cut 
and  pierced  with  an  arrow,  and  fastened  through  the 
heart  to  the  prairie  by  the  lance  of  Won-ga-tap. 

Many  in  the  village  recognized  that  as  the  lance  of 
Won-ga-tap.  Mahtotohpa  did  not  clean  it  of  its  blood, 
but  held  it  aloft  before  all  the  village  a,nd  swore  that 
he  would  clean  it  only  with  the  blood  of  Wongatap  the 
Arikaree. 

He  sent  a  challenge  to  the  Arikarees ;  and  for  four 
years  he  waited,  keepiQg  the  lance  and  hoping  to  use  it 
as  he  had  promised.  Finally  his  heart  had  grown  so 
sore  that  he  was  bursting ;  and  again  holding  the  lance 
up  before  the  village,  he  made  a  speech. 

220 


BQYS^     BOOR    OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

*^Mahtotolipa  is  going.  Let  nobody  speak  his  name, 
or  ask  where  he  is,  or  try  to  seek  him.  He  will  return 
with  fresh  blood  on  this  lance,  or  he  will  not  return  at 
all.'' 

He  set  out  alone,  on  foot,  like  Piskaret,  the  Adiron- 
dack, had  set  out  in  his  great  adventure  against  the 
Iroquois.  By  night  journeys  he  traveled  two  hundred 
miles,  living  on  the  parched  corn  in  his  pouch,  until  he 
was  seven  days  hungry  when  at  last  he  came  to  the 
Arikaree  town  where  the  lodge  of  Wongatap  was 
located. 

He  knew  the  village  well,  for  there  had  been  brief 
periods  when  the  Mandans  and  the  Arikarees  were  at 
peace;  besides,  it  was  a  warrior's  business  to  know  an 
enemy's  lodges. 

The  Arikaree  towns  were  much  the  same  as  the  Man- 
dan  towns.  Now  Mahtotohpa  lay  outside  and  watched, 
until  at  dusk  he  might  slip  through  between  the  pickets, 
and  seek  the  lodge  of  Wongatap.  He  was  enveloped 
in  a  buffalo  robe,  covering  his  head,  so  that  he  would 
be  taken  for  an  Arikaree. 

He  peeped  through  a  crack  in  the  Wongatap  lodge 
and  saw  that  his  enemy  was  getting  ready  for  bed. 
There  he  was,  Wongatap  himself,  sitting  with  his  wife 
in  the  fire-light,  and  smoking  his  last  pipe.  Pretty 
soon,  as  the  fire  flickered  out,  he  rapped  the  ashes  from 
his  pipe,  his  wife  raked  the  coals  of  the  fire  together, 
until  morning;  and  now  they  two  crawled  into  their 
bunk. 

Hotly  grasping  his  lance,  and  surrounded  by  the 
enemy,  Mahtotohpa  delayed  a  little  space;  then  he 

221 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

arose  and  boldly  stalked  into  the  lodge  and  sat  by  the 
fire. 

Over  the  coals  was  hanging  a  pot  of  cooked  meat; 
beside  the  fire  were  the  pipe  and  the  pouch  of  red- 
willow  smoking  tobacco,  just  as  left  by  Wongatap. 

Amidst  the  dusk  Mahtotohpa  ate  well  of  the  cooked 
meat;  and  filling  the  pipe,  smoked  calmly,  half  lying 
down,  on  one  elbow. 

**Who  is  that  man,  who  enters  our  lodge  and  eats 
of  our  food  and  smokes  of  our  tobacco  T'  he  heard 
Wongatap 's  wife  ask. 

^*It  is  no  matter,"  Wongatap  replied.  **If  he  is 
hungry,  let  him  eat.'' 

That  was  right.  By  Indian  law  a  person  in  need  may 
enter  any  lodge,  and  eat,  and  no  questions  shall  be 
asked  until  he  has  finished. 

Mahtotohpa 's  heart  almost  failed  him.  Had  that 
not  been  the  killer  of  his  brother,  he  would  only  have 
left  a  challenge,  and  gone  away.  But  he  thought  of 
his  brother,  and  his  vows,  and  his  heart  closed  again. 

When  his  pipe  was  smoked  out,  he  laid  it  aside,  and 
gently  stirred  the  fire  with  the  toe  of  his  moccasin,  for 
more  light.  He  dared  to  wait  no  longer.  On  a  sudden 
he  grasped  his  lance  with  both  hands,  sprang  up  and 
drove  it  through  the  body  of  Wongatap,  in  the  bunk. 

With  his  knife  he  instantly  snatched  off  the  scalp. 
Then  he  uttered  the  Mandan  scalp-halloo,  and  dived 
for  the  door.  There  he  paused,  for  just  a  second,  to 
look  back,  that  the  squaw  might  see  his  face — and  in 
the  glimmer  of  fire-light  he  noted  a  feather  from  the 
lance  sticking  in  the  hole  in  Wongatap 's  side^ 

222 


THE  LANCE  OF  MAHTOTOHPA 

So  back  lie  darted,  plucked  the  feather,  and  carrying 
it  in  his  left  hand,  that  the  Great  Spirit  might  help  him, 
he  ran  hard.  Wongatap  's  wife  was  shrieking ;  all  the 
village  heard  and  answered,  and  the  warriors  streamed 
out  of  the  lodges. 

The  whole  night  Mahtotohpa  ran,  while  the  j^rikarees 
vainly  searched  for  his  trail.  This  day  he  hid,  in  the 
brush  along  the  Missouri  Eiver.  The  next  night  he  ran 
again;  and  on  the  sixth  morning  he  panted  into  the 
Mandan  town,  with  the  dried  blood  of  Wongatap  on  his 
lance 's  blade  and  the  stiffened  scalp  of  Wongatap  hang- 
ing to  its  handle. 

So  that  was  why  he  cherished  the  lance,  and  that  was 
why  he  considered  the  loose  eaglets  feather  to  be  a 
strong  medicine  from  the  Great  Spirits 

But  this  was  only  Number  Six,  in  the  twelve  recorded 
deeds  of  Four  Bears. 

His  next-biggest  deed  was  as  follows,  and  it  is  bigger, 
according  to  white  man's  way  of  thinking.  By  that 
deed  he  won  his  knife. 

Early  one  morning  one  hundred  and  fifty  Cheyenne 
warriors  attacked  the  Mandan  town.  They  took  a 
scalp  and  many  horses  before  they  rode  away.  The 
Mandans  had  been  surprised;  but  Mahtotohpa  rallied 
fifty  warriors  and  pursued. 

The  fifty  warriors  led  by  Mahtotohpa  pursued  for  a 
day  and  half  a  day.  At  noon  they  sighted  the  Chey- 
ennes  driving  the  stolen  horses;  but  the  Gheyennes 
were  so  numerous  that  the  Mandan  warriors  lost  their 
hearts  and  wished  to  turn  back. 

Not  so,  Mahtotohpa !    He  galloped  forward  alone ;  he 

223 


BQYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

planted  his  lance  in  the  earth,  to  the  full  length  of  the 
blade ;  and  making  a  circle  around  it  with  his  horse  he 
tore  from  his  clothing  a  strip  of  red  cloth  and  hung  that 
to  the  lance  shaft,  for  a  banner. 

*'If  you  are  cowards,  you  may  go  back  to  the 
women,''  he  called  to  his  men.  **I  stay  here,  where  my 
lance  is  firm  in  the  ground." 

His  men  were  ashamed,  and  hesitated.  Now  the 
Cheyennes  had  turned  and  were  coming  for  battle. 
Their  chief  saw  the  planted  lance  of  Mahtotohpa,  and 
Mahtotohpa  waiting  beside  it,  and  he  galloped  forward, 
alone,  on  his  white  horse. 

**Who  is  it  that  has  stuck  down  his  lance,  and  defies 
the  Cheyennes  r'  he  shouted. 

**I  am  Mahtotohpa." 

**That  is  good.  Mahtotohpa  is  a  chief.  Does  he 
dare  to  fight?" 

**Is  this  a  chief  who  speaks  to  Mahtotohpa?" 

**I  wear  scalps  at  my  horse's  bit,  and  the  eagle's 
feathers." 

**You  have  said  enough,"  replied  Mahtotohpa. 
*  *  Come.    Let  us  meet. ' ' 

Forward  hammered  the  Cheyenne  chief,  riding  splen- 
didly in  circles,  until  he  dashed  in  and  planted  his  lance, 
also,  at  the  side  of  Mahtotohpa 's  lance.  That  was  his 
answer. 

They  each  drew  off  a  little  way,  while  the  Mandan 
warriors  and  the  Cheyenne  warriors  gazed  expectant. 
Then  they  charged  like  knights  in  a  tournament,  and 
shot  at  the  same  moment  with  their  guns.  After  they 
had  passed  each  other,  and  had  wheeled,  Mahtotohpa 

224 


THE  LANCE  OF  MAHTOTOHPA 

held  up  his  powder-horn.  The  Cheyenne's  bullet  had 
smashed  it,  so  that  the  powder  had  flowed  out. 

Having  shown,  Mahtotohpa  flung  away  his  horn, 
threw  his  gun  to  the  ground,  and  setting  his  buffalo- 
hide  shield  upon  his  left  arm,  deliberately  strung  his 
bow  and  placed  an  arrow  upon  the  string. 

The  Cheyenne  chief  was  a  mighty  warrior.  He  like- 
wise cast  aside  his  powder-horn  and  gun,  adjusted  his 
painted  shield,  prepared  bow  and  arrow.  Again  they 
charged.  They  circled  swiftly  about  each  other,  per- 
forming many  clever  feats  of  horsemanship,  while  their 
stout  bows  twanged  so  fast  that  the  arrows  crisscrossed 
like  darting  bees. 

Some  thudded  into  the  thick  shields,  and  the  shields 
bristled  with  the  feathered  ends.  Some  found  legs  and 
arms — but  that  mattered  little.  Now  Mahtotohpa 's 
horse  reeled  and  fell,  an  arrow  in  his  heart.  Mahto- 
tohpa sprang  nimbly  off.  And  off  from  his  own  horse 
sprang  the  Cheyenne  chief,  that  he  might  not  have  the 
advantage. 

They  plied  their  bows,  on  foot.  Soon  the  brave 
Cheyenne  stripped  his  quiver  from  his  left  shoulder 
and  flourished  it.  It  was  empty.  He  tossed  it  away, 
and  tossed  away  bow  and  shield.  Then  he  drew  his 
knife. 

**Ai!''  responded  Mahtotohpa,  gladly;  and  ridding 
himself  of  shield  and  quiver  he  rushed  forward,  feel- 
ing for  his  knife,  too. 

But  his  knife  was  not  in  his  belt.  He  had  lost  it,  or 
left  it  at  home !  Hah !  He  could  not  stop — they  had 
come  together — the  Cheyenne  was  upon  him.    So  he 

225 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

fought  with  his  bow.  He  struck  aside  the  Cheyenne's 
thrust,  and  hit  him  over  the  head  and  knocked  him 
down.    They  grappled.    It  was  a  terrible  fight. 

Mahtotohpa  clutched  for  the  knife,  and  the  sharp 
blade  was  wrenched  through  his  hand,  cutting  to  the 
bone.  The  Cheyenne  stabbed  him  many  times,  and 
many  times  Mahtotohpa  clutched  the  knife  blade  again, 
before  he  could  tear  the  haft  from  the  Cheyenne's 
fingers. 

But  suddenly  he  succeeded,  and  the  Cheyenne  died. 
The  warriors  of  both  parties  had  formed  a  circle  close 
about,  watching.  Mahtotohpa  staggered  up,  with  the 
Cheyenne's  scalp  and  knife,  and  gave  the  kill  whoop — 
and  thus  victory  rested  with  the  Mandans. 

That  was  Mahtotohpa 's  most  famous  battle.  In  an- 
other battle  he  got  his  name.  Four  Bears.  The  Assini- 
boins  had  put  all  his  warriors  to  flight ;  but  he  stood  his 
ground,  and  shot  his  gun  and  killed  an  Assiniboin,  and 
charged  with  lance  and  shield,  and  made  them  run  off. 
He  took  sixty  horses,  besides  the  scalp.  After  tliis  he 
was  called  Four  Bears,  because  the  Assiniboins  said 
that  he  charged  *  *  like  four  bears  in  one. ' ' 

His  worst  wound  he  received  from  the  Sioux.  They 
shot  an  arrow  clear  through  his  body,  so  that  the  arrow 
continued  on,  dropping  blood.  But  he  lashed  his  horse 
forward,  against  them,  and  won  another  victory. 

Such  honorable  scars  he  kept  covered  with  red  paint, 
that  all  who  saw  might  read. 

These  stories,  and  others,  as  pictured  by  the  robe, 
Mahtotohpa  told  to  Artist  Catlin,  while  Indian  trader 
James  Kipp  translated  the  words,  and  Four  Bears 

226 


THE  LANCE  OF  MAHTOTOHPA 

acted  out  the  scenes ;  and  tliey  three  sat  upon  the  robe 
itself. 

The  Cheyenne  chief's  knife  he  gave  to  Artist  Catlin. 
He  also  made  a  copy  of  the  pictures,  on  another  robe, 
and  the  knife  and  the  second  robe  were  sent  to  the  Cat- 
lin Indian  gallery,  at  Washington,  where  they  doubtless 
may  be  seen  at  this  day. 

Mahtotohpa's  end  came  to  him  as  follows : 

In  the  summer  of  1837,  a  great  death  attacked  the 
Mandan  towns.  It  was  the  small  pox.  The  Sioux 
hedged  the  towns  so  closely  that  there  was  no  escape 
into  the  prairie.  The  Mandan  men,  women  and  chil- 
dren, thus  herded  together,  died  by  hundreds. 

Mahtotohpa  was  among  the  last  left.  He  witnessed 
all  his  family  and  friends  stretched  cold  and  lifeless, 
and  he  decided  to  try  a  sacrifice  to  the  anger  of  the 
Great  Spirit. 

So  he  dragged  his  wives  and  children  together  and 
covered  them  decently  with  buffalo  robes.  Then  he 
went  out  to  a  little  hill,  and  laid  himself  down,  with  a 
vow  not  to  eat  or  drink,  if  the  Great  Spirit  would  stay 
the  x)lague. 

On  the  sixth  day  he  was  very  weak ;  but  he  crept  back 
to  his  lodge,  and  again  laid  himself  down,  in  a  robe, 
beside  his  family.    And  on  the  ninth  day,  he,  too,  died. 

However,  the  plague  was  not  stayed  for  many  days. 
Of  the  sixteen  hundred  Mandans  in  the  two  towns,  only 
thirty-one  remained  alive;  of  all  the  Mandan  nation 
there  were  scarce  above  one  hundred;  and  today  they 
number  about  one  hundred  and  fifty. 

227 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

A  SEARCH  FOR  THE  BOOK  OF  HEAVEN  (1832) 

THE  LONG  TRAIL  OF  THE   PIERCED   NOSES 

THE  Nez  Perces  or  ** Pierced  Noses"  really  were 
not  Pierced  Noses  any  more  than  any  other  Indi- 
ans; for  the  North  American  red  men,  the  country 
over,  wore  ornaments  in  their  noses  when  they  chose  to. 

But  as  the  Pierced  Noses  this  nation  in  the  far 
Northwest  was  known.  They  were  members  of  the 
Sha-hap-ti-an  family  of  North  Americans — a  family 
not  so  large  as  the  Algonquian,  Siouan,  Shoshonean 
and  several  other  families,  yet  important. 

Their  home  was  the  valley  and  river  country  of  west- 
em  Idaho,  and  the  near  sections  of  Oregon  and  Wash- 
ington. The  two  captains,  Lewis  and  Clark,  were  well 
treated  by  them  along  the  great  Snake  Eiver,  above 
the  entrance  to  the  greater  Columbia. 

They  were  a  small  Indian ;  a  horse  Indian  who  lived 
on  buffalo  as  well  as  fish,  and  scorned  to  eat  dog  like 
the  Sioux;  a  brave  fighting  Indian;  and  withal  a  very 
honest,  wise-minded  Indian,  whose  boast,  up  to  1877, 
was  that  they  had  never  shed  the  white  man 's  blood. 

They  used  canoes,  but  they  used  horses  more. 
Horses  were  their  wealth.  They  raised  horses  by  the 
thousand,  and  the  finest  of  horses  these  were.  A  fat 
colt  was  good  meat,  but  without  horses  they  could  not 

228 


A  SEARCH  FOR  THE  BOOK  OF  HEAVEN 

hunt  the  buffalo  and  the  buffalo  supplied  stronger 
meat. 

Once  a  year,  when  the  grass  had  greened  in  the 
spring,  they  traveled  eastward,  across  the  Rocky 
Mountains  by  the  Pierced  Nose  Trail-to-the-buffalo, 
and  hunted  upon  the  Missouri  River  plains,  in  the 
country  of  their  enemies  the  Blackfeet. 

The  Blackfeet,  in  turn,  sought  them  out,  west  of  the 
mountains,  to  steal  their  horses.  With  the  Blackfeet 
and  the  Sioux,  and  sometimes  with  the  Snakes,  they 
fought  many  a  battle ;  and  when  they  had  anything  of 
a  show,  they  won  out.  It  took  numbers  to  whip  a 
Pierced  Nose  warrior.  Like  most  peace-lovers,  he 
made  the  hardest  kind  of  a  fighter. 

The  early  whites  in  the  Northwest  had  nothing  but 
praise  for  the  Pierced  Nose  Indians.  The  trapper  who 
married  a  Pierced  Nose  woman  thought  that  he  was 
lucky.  She  would  be  a  good  wife  for  him — gentle,  neat 
and  always  busy.  Besides,  as  a  rule  the  Nez  Perces 
women  were  better  looking  than  the  general  run  of 
Indian  women. 

The  early  fur-hunters  and  explorers  found  that  the 
Pierced  Noses  were  very  religious,  in  a  way  akin  to 
the  Christian  way.  They  did  not  eat,  drink  nor  sleep 
without  first  giving  thanks  to  God.  They  had  one  day 
each  week,  like  Sunday,  when  they  did  not  hunt  or  fish 
or  work,  but  listened  to  talks  by  their  priests  or  med- 
icine-men. 

It  was  said  that  they  had  been  taught  first  by  a  Chris- 
tian Iroquois  Indian,  who  in  1816  came  in  from  Canada 
and  told  them  the  things  that  he  had  been  told  by  the 

229 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

French  priests.  At  any  rate,  when  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic priests  themselves  arrived  to  live  among  them, 
these  Pierced  Noses  already  had  learned  a  great  deal. 
They  were  anxious  to  learn  more. 

However,  before  the  missionaries  of  any  church  vis- 
ited them,  the  Pierced  Noses  tried  to  learn  more,  by 
themselves.  In  particular,  they  wanted  a  copy  of  the 
Book  of  Heaven.  And  what  started  them  on  the  trail 
of  the  Book  of  Heaven,  was  this : 

Among  the  leaders  of  white  fur-hunters  in  beaver- 
trapping  days  in  the  west,  there  was  Trapper-Captain 
Jedediah  S.  Smith — the  Knight  in  Buckskin.  This 
Captain  Jedediah  Smith  was  fearless  and  upright. 
Hunting  beaver,  he  traveled  far  and  wide,  from  the 
Missouri  River  to  California,  and  from  New  Mexico  to 
the  Columbia,  protected  only  by  his  rifle  and  his  Bible. 

Wherever  he  carried  his  rifle,  he  carried  his  Bible; 
used  them  both,  and  no  man  but  that  respected  him. 
The  Comanches  of  the  Southwest  finally  killed  him, 
in  1831,  when  fighting  alone  against  great  odds  he 
died  a  real  hero's  death. 

He  had  spent  the  winter  of  1824-1825  in  the  Pierced 
Noses'  country.  Of  course  he  told  them  much  about 
the  white  man's  religion.  They  saw  him  frequently 
reading  in  his  little,  black-leather  book,  which,  they 
said,  must  be  the  White  Man's  Book  of  Heaven.  He 
would  not  sell  them  the  book,  for  any  amount  of  horses 
or  beaver  skins.  When  he  had  left,  they  took  counsel 
together  and  decided  that  they  should  get  such  a  book. 

Twice  they  sent  into  the  East  for  it;  and  no  word 
came  back.    But  the  Pierced  Noses  did  not  give  up. 

230 


A  SEARCH  FOR  THE  BOOK  OF  HEAVEN 

They  were  still  without  the  wonderful  Book  of  Heaven 
which,  had  said  Captain  Jedediah  Smith  the  trapper, 
guided  the  white  men  on  the  straight  trail  to  the 
Great  Spirit  above. 

In  the  early  part  of  1832  they  called  a  council  of  the 
nation,  and  chose  four  men,  to  set  out,  again,  for  the 
big,  unknown  village  where  dwelt  the  Red  Head  Chief, 
and  where,  they  hoped,  a  copy  of  the  Book  of  Heaven 
might  be  found. 

The  snows  had  scarcely  melted  when  the  four  men 
started.  Two  of  them  were  old  and  wise ;  their  names 
are  not  written.  Two  of  them  were  young  and  strong ; 
their  names  were  Rabbit-skin  Leggins  and  No-horns- 
on-his-head. 

A  long,  long,  dangerous  road  lay  before  them :  three 
thousand  miles,  across  the  mountains  into  the  Black- 
feet  country,  and  across  the  plains  guarded  by  the 
Blackfeet  and  the  Sioux  and  other  hungry  people  as 
bad. 

But  they  got  through  all  right,  for  they  were  clever 
and  in  earnest.  They  arrived  at  St.  Louis  in  the 
summer. 

St.  Louis  was  then  nothing  like  the  St.  Louis  of 
today;  but  to  the  four  strangers  from  the  Columbia 
River  basin  it  was  amazingly  large.  Never  had  they 
dreamed  of  seeing  so  many  white  people.  No  one 
spoke  their  tongue ;  still  there  were  trappers  and  Mis- 
souri River  boatmen  who  understood  signs,  and  by 
the  sign  language  they  inquired  for  the  Red  Head 
Chief. 

The  kind-hearted  Governor  William  Clark  was  glad 

231 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

to  greet  them.  Their  fathers,  ahnost  thirty  years 
before,  had  helped  him  and  Captain  Lewis  the  Long 
Knife;  he  remembered  the  two  old  men  when  they 
were  young.  The  Indians  of  the  West  might  always 
depend  upon  their  friend  the  Eed  Head. 

So  he  took  charge  of  the  four  Pierced  Noses,  and 
entertained  them.  He  showed  them  the  sights  of  the 
white  man's  big  village  beside  the  big  rivers.  They 
were  entertained  by  banquets  and  balls  and  the  thea- 
tre. They  went  to  services  in  the  Koman  Catholic 
church,  where  the  white  people  worshipped — for  Gov- 
ernor Clark  was  a  Catholic. 

And  they  saw  copies  of  the  Book  of  Heaven — the 
Eoman  Catholic  testament,  and  the  Bible:  but  the 
books  did  not  speak  their  language! 

In  all  the  white  man's  village  there  was  no  one  who 
might  read  from  the  Book,  in  their  own  language. 

After  a  few  months  they  began  to  despair.  The 
food  of  the  white  man  and  the  close  air  of  the  lodges 
made  them  ill.  The  two  old  men  died.  Eabbit-skin 
Leggins  and  No-horns-on-his-head  were  homesick  for 
their  country  beyond  the  mountains.  In  the  winter 
they  prepared  to  go. 

A  farewell  banquet  was  given  to  them,  but  they 
were  tired  of  banquets.  They  wanted  a  Book  of 
Heaven  that  could  talk  to  them.  No-horns-on-his-head 
delivered  a  speech,  as  best  he  might,  in  sign  language 
and  broken  English,  through  an  interpreter. 

I  have  come  to  you  over  the  trail  of  many  moons  from  the  setting 
sun.  You  were  the  friends  of  my  fathers,  who  have  all  gone  the 
long  way. 

!232 


A  SEARCH  FOR  THE  BOOK  OF  HEAVEN 

I  came  with  an  eye  partly  open  for  my  people,  who  sit  in  dark- 
ness; I  go  back  with  both  eyes  closed.  How  can  I  go  back  blind, 
to  my  blind  people?  I  made  my  way  to  you  with  strong  arms 
through  many  enemies  and  strange  lands  that  I  might  carry  back 
much  to  them.    I  go  back  with  both  arms  broken  and  empty. 

Two  fathers  cjime  with  us;  they  were  the  braves  of  many  winters 
and  wars.  We  leave  them  asleep  here  by  your  great  waters  and 
wigwams.  They  were  tired  in  many  moons  and  their  moccasins 
wore  out. 

My  people  sent  me  to  get  the  "White  Man's  Book  of  Heaven." 
You  took  me  to  where  you  allow  your  women  to  dance  as  we  do 
not  ours,  and  the  book  was  not  there.  You  took  me  to  where  they 
worship  the  Great  Spirit  with  candles,  and  the  book  was  not  there. 
You  showed  me  images  of  the  good  spirits  and  the  picture  of  the 
good  land  beyond,  but  the  book  was  not  among  them  to  tell  us  the 
way. 

1  am  going  back  the  long  and  sad  trail  to  my  people  in  the  dark 
laud.  You  make  my  feet  heavy  with  gifts  and  my  moccasins  will 
gi-ow  old  carrying  them,  yet  the  book  is  not  among  them.  When 
I  tell  my  poor  blind  people,  after  one  more  snow,  in  the  big  council, 
that  I  did  not  bring  the  book,  no  word  will  be  spoken  by  our  old 
men  or  by  our  young  braves.  One  by  one  they  will  rise  and  go 
out  in  silence. 

My  people  will  die  in  darkness,  and  they  will  go  a  long  path  to 
other  hunting  grounds.  No  white  man  will  go  with  them,  and  no 
White  Man's  Book  make  the  way  plain.    I  have  no  more  words. 

They  left.  Kabbit-skin  Leggins  reached  his  people ; 
No-horns-on-his-head  fell  upon  the  trail  and  died. 

But  his  words  lived.  As  translated  into  English, 
they  were  printed  in  Eastern  papers,  and  aroused  great 
desire  among  the  churches  to  give  them  the  right  an- 
swer. Should  these  Indians  beyond  the  mountains 
remain  in  darkness?    No! 

Missionaries  were  called  for,  to  carry  the  Book  and 
the  Word  to  the  Columbia  Eiver.  In  the  spring  of 
1834  the  first  party,  of  four  Methodists,  set  out;  others 

233 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

followed,  the  next  year;  soon  tho  Roman  Catliolic 
church  sent  its  Black  Robes;  and  the  Pierced  Noses 
and  their  kin  the  Flatheads  were  made  glad. 

Not  in  vain  had  their  warriors  died,  while  seeking 
the  road  to  the  white  man's  heaven. 


234 


CHAPTER  XIX 

A  TRAVELER  TO  WASHINGTON  (1831-1835) 

WIJUNJON,   THE  *^BIG  LIAE''  OF  THE  ASSINIBOINS 

THE  Assiniboins  are  of  the  great  Sioux  family. 
Today  there  are  in  the  United  States  about  one 
thousand  of  them.  But  when  they  were  a  free  and 
powerful  people  they  numbered  as  high  as  ten  thou- 
sand, and  ranged  far — ^from  the  Missouri  River  in 
northern  North  Dakota  and  northern  Montana  clear 
into  Canada,  above. 

This  cold,  high  country  of  vast  plains  made  them 
hardy  and  roaming.  In  their  proud  bearing  and  good 
size  they  resembled  the  Dakota  Sioux,  but  with  the 
Sioux  they  had  little  to  do,  except  in  war.  They  were 
at  war  with  the  Mandans  also,  and  other  nations  to  the 
south.  In  the  north  they  mingled  with  the  Ojibwas  or 
Chippewa  people  who  had  journeyed  westward  into 
Canada.  The  Ojibwas  had  given  them  their  name, 
As-si-i-bo-in,  meaning  **They-cook-with-stones.'' 

The  Assiniboins  were  horse  Indians  and  buffalo 
hunters.  They  had  two  peculiar  customs.  They  did 
cook  their  meat  with  stones,  just  as  the  Chippewas 
said.  Instead  of  using  kettles,  they  used  holes.  They 
dug  a  hole  about  the  size  of  a  large  kettle;  then  they 
pressed  a  square  of  raw  buffalo-hide  into  it,  for  a 

235 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

Hning.  This  they  filled  with  water;  they  put  their 
meat  in,  and  heating  stones,  dropped  them  in,  too, 
until  the  water  was  boiling. 

Their  other  peculiarity  lay  in  their  style  of  hair. 
The  longer  the  hair,  the  better.  They  divided  it  into 
strands,  and  plastered  the  strands  with  a  paste  of  red 
earth  and  hoof  glue,  in  sections  of  an  inch  or  two. 

When  the  hair  did  not  grow  long  enough  to  suit, 
they  spliced  it  by  gluing  on  other  hair,  sometimes 
horse-hair,  until  it  reached  the  ground. 

In  the  year  1831  Wi-jun-jon,  or  Pigeon 's-egg  Head, 
was  a  leading  young  warrior  among  the  long-haired 
Assiniboins.  It  was  a  custom  of  those  days  to  have 
chiefs  and  warriors  from  the  various  Indian  tribes 
sent  to  Washington,  to  talk  with  their  White  Father 
and  see  how  the  Americans  lived. 

This  was  supposed  to  teach  the  Indians  the  value  of 
white  man's  ways,  and  to  show  them  how  useless  was 
war  with  the  white  race. 

The  Assiniboins  were  still  a  wild  people.  They  were 
located  so  far  from  St.  Louis  that  they  knew  nothing 
about  white  man  ways,  except  such  as  they  noticed  at 
the  fur-trading  posts — and  here  the  ways  were  mixed 
with  Indian  ways. 

So  in  the  fall  of  this  year  Major  J.  F.  A.  Sanborn, 
the  Indian  agent  at  the  American  Fur  Company's 
trading-post  of  Fort  Union,  where  on  the  border  be- 
tween North  Dakota  and  Montana  the  Yellowstone 
River  empties  into  the  Missouri  Eiver,  decided  to  take 
a  party  of  Indians  to  Washington. 

The  Assiniboins,  the  Cheyennes,  the  Blackfeet,  the 

236 


A  TRAVELER  TO  WASHINGTON 

Crows — they  all  came  to  Fort  Union,  to  trade  their 
furs  for  powder,  lead,  sugar  and  blankets. 

Major  Sanborn  asked  the  Assiniboins  for  a  war- 
rior.   They  appointed  Wijunjon  and  another. 

Now,  this  was  to  be  a  long  journey,  among  strangers. 
To  be  sure,  from  the  Mandans,  down-river,  old  Sha- 
ha-ka,  or  White  Head,  had  made  the  trip,  in  1806,  when 
the  Red  Head  Chief  and  the  Long  Knife  Chief  were 
bound  home  from  the  salty  water ;  and  he  had  returned 
unharmed.  Others  had  gone  since,  from  the  upper 
Missouri,  and  others  had  died ;  Sha-ha-ka  himself  had 
almost  been  killed  by  the  Sioux. 

Nobody  had  gone  yet,  from  as  far  away  as  the 
Assiniboin  country;  therefore  young  Wijunjon  feared, 
but  was  brave.  He  bade  his  wife,  Chin-cha-pee,  or 
Fire-bug-that-creeps,  and  his  little  children  goodby, 
and  with  the  other  Assiniboin  and  chiefs  from  the 
Blackfeet  and  Crows,  set  out  on  a  fur  company  flat- 
boat  under  protection  of  Major  Sanborn.  The  Assini- 
boin women  on  the  shore  wept  and  wailed.  His  people 
scarcely  expected  to  see  him  again. 

It  was  one  thousand  miles  by  river  through  the 
enemies  of  his  nation,  thence  on  to  the  great  village  of 
St.  Louis ;  but  he  passed  in  safety.  And  when  he  be- 
gan to  see  the  first  smaller  villages  of  the  Americans 
in  Missouri,  Wijunjon  started  in  to  count  the  houses, 
so  that  he  might  tell  his  people. 

He  had  promised  to  report  everything. 

He  commenced  to  count  by  making  notches  in  his 
pipe  stem — one  notch  for  every  lodge.  The  cabins 
became  thicker,  along  the  river  banks,  and  his  comrade 

237 


BOYS'     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

needs  must  call  off  the  lodges  while  he  made  the 
notches.  Soon  there  was  no  more  space  on  the  pipe 
stem,  and  Wijunjon  changed  to  his  war  club.  Speed- 
ily he  had  filled  this  also. 

Luckily,  the  barge  tied  up  at  the  shore,  while  din- 
ner was  cooked.  This  gave  him  chance  to  cut  a  long 
willow  stick,  which  surely  would  be  enough. 

In  fact,  so  certain  he  was  that  the  end  of  the  white 
man's  lodges  must  be  close  before  them,  that  he  worked 
hard  to  recut  the  pipe  stem  notches  and  the  war  club 
notches,  in  his  willow  stick,  to  have  all  together.  But 
this  very  day  he  had  filled  the  willow  stick,  and  the 
lodges  before  them  seemed  more  numerous  than  those 
behind  I 

Ere  they  arrived  in  sight  of  St.  Louis  itself,  he  and 
his  comrade  had  an  arm-load  of  willow  sticks — all 
filled  with  notches.  And  here  was  St.  Louis!  How 
many  people  ?  Fifteen  thousand !  How  many  lodges  1 
Thousands  of  lodges ! 

Pigeon 's-egg  Head  pitched  the  bundle  of  willow 
sticks  over-board.  His  knife  was  worn  out,  and  his 
hand  and  brain  were  tired. 

At  St.  Louis  he  stood  for  his  portrait,  painted  by  the 
same  Artist  Catlin  who  the  next  year,  in  the  Mandan 
towns,  listened  to  the  hero  tales  of  Mah-to-toh-pa.  He 
was  a  great  man  at  painting  Indians,  this  Artist  Catlin. 

Wijunjon  was  somewhat  confused  by  so  many  sounds 
and  sights,  but  he  made  a  fine  figure  of  a  chief — in  his 
mountain-goat  skin  leggins  and  shirt,  decorated  with 
porcupine  quills,  and  with  scalp  locks  from  his  ene- 
mies; his  long  plaited  hair,  which   reached  to  the 

238 


A  TRAVELER  TO  WASHINGTON 

ground;  Ms  war  bonnet  of  eagles'  plumes;  his  buifalo- 
liide  robe,  painted  with  the  battles  of  his  career;  his 
beautiful  moccasins ;  and  his  quiver  and  bow  and  bull- 
neck  shield. 

Having  had  his  portrait  painted,  he  continued  on 
the  long  trail,  of  two  thousand  more  miles  <by  water 
and  by  stage,  to  "Washington.  And  as  every  mile  of 
it  was  amidst  still  more  lodges  of  the  white  man,  he 
soon  saw  that  all  the  willow  sticks  of  the  Missouri 
Eiver  could  not  have  counted  their  numbers. 

This  winter  Wijunjon  and  his  companions  had  a 
wonderful  time  among  the  white  men.  The  Pigeon 's- 
egg  Head  was  the  foremost.  He  was  the  first  to  shake 
the  hand  of  the  Great  White  Father.  He  declined 
nothing.  The  sights  of  Washington,  Baltimore,  Phil- 
adelphia, New  York — ^he  inspected  them  all.  He 
scarcely  rested,  night  or  day.  He  learned  so  much 
that  when,  in  the  spring  of  1832,  he  turned  homeward, 
he  was  filled  to  bursting. 

At  St.  Louis  the  first  *  through''  steamboat,  the 
Yellowstone,  was  waiting  to  ascend  to  Fort  Union 
and  the  Assiniboin  country.  Artist  Catlin  was  aboard. 
This  was  to  be  his  first  trip,  also. 

The  steamboat  Yellowstone  made  a  huge  sensation, 
as  it  ploughed  the  thick  muddy  current  of  the  Missouri, 
frightening  the  Indians  and  buffalo  along  the  shores. 

It  moved  without  sweeps — it  nosed  for  the  deepest 
channels — and  the  Indians  called  it  ^^Big-medicine- 
canoe-with-eyes."  It  spoke  with  its  guns,  and  belched 
much  smoke — and  they  called  it  *^Big  Thunder-canoe." 

But  Wijunjon  feared  not  at  all.    He  }vas  iised  to 

239 


BOYS^     BOOR     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

thunder-canoes,  now;  and  lie  had  seen  many  great 
sights,  back  there  in  the  villages  of  the  white  men.  In 
fact,  he  was  a  sight,  himself,  for  on  the  way  np  he  had 
changed  his  clothes,  that  his  people  might  know;  hina 
for  a  wide  traveler. 

Gone  were  his  fringed  and  quilled  goat-skin  legginai 
and  shirt ;  gone  his  war  bonnet  and  painted  robe  and 
handsome  moccasins,  his  bow  and  quiver  and  shield. 

Instead,  he  wore  a  badly  fitting  colonel's  uniform^ 
of  the  United  States  Army,  given  to  him  by  the  Great; 
White  Father:  wrinkled  trousers  and  coat  of  bright 
blue,  with  gilt  epaulets  upon  the  shoulders,  and  a  stiff 
collar  that  reached  above  his  ears.  Atop  his  long 
painted  hair  there  was  settled,  to  the  coat  collar,  a 
stove-pipe  hat,  with  a  silver-braid  band  and  a  red  wool 
plume  two  feet  high.  His  feet  were  squeezed  into  high- 
heeled  military  boots,  of  shiny  leather.  Around  his 
neck  was  a  tight  black  stock,  or  collar.  Around  his 
waist  was  a  red  sash.  Upon  his  hands  were  looso 
white  cotton  gloves.  Upon  his  chest,  and  the  ruffles  of 
a  white  shirt,  dangled  a  silver  medal,  on  a  blue  ribbon. 
Hung  by  a  belt  across  one  shoulder,  at  his  log  dangled 
a  huge  broad-sword.  In  one  hand  he  carried  a  blue 
umbrella,  in  the  other  a  fan,  and  in  his  arms  a  keg 
of  rum. 

Thus  Wijunjon,  the  big  brave,  proudly  strode  the 
deck  of  the  steamer  Yellowstone,  and  impatiently 
looked  forward  to  the  moment  when  he  might  step 
off,  among  his  people. 

The  moment  came.  Two  thousand  Indians  had 
gathered  on  the  prairie  at  Fort  Union,  to  greet  the 

240 


A  TRAVELER  TO  WASHINGTON 

thunder-canoe  and  the  returning  travelers.    Wijunjon 
led  the  procession  down  the  gang-plank. 

It  was  not  Indian  etiquet  to  make  an  ado  over  the 
return,  Wijunjon  was  roundly  eyed,  but  nobody  spoke 
to  him.  His  wife,  the  Fire-bug-that-creeps,  was  here ; 
so  were  his  children,  who  scarcely  knew  him;  so  were 
his  old  parents.  He  felt  that  he  was  admired  and 
that  his  family  and  friends  were  glad  to  see  him ;  but 
they  lot  him  alone  and  he  only  stalked  about  in  his 
glory,  whistling  the  American  war-cry  of  **  Yankee 
Doodle.'^ 

After  due  time,  of  course  they  all  loosened  up.  This 
night  in  his  lodge  in  the  Assiniboin  village  he  com- 
menced to  tell  his  stories.  But  he  could  not  tell  one 
tenth — and  yet,  with  the  very  first,  several  of  the  old 
men  and  chiefs  arose  and  went  out. 

They  said  that  this  Wijunjon  was  a  liar,  and  that 
they  would  not  listen  to  him.  The  white  people  were 
known  to  be  great  liars,  and  he  had  learned  from  them  1 

In  vain,  the  next  day,  and  the  next  day,  the  Pigeon 's- 
egg  Head  tried  to  make  himself  popular. 

First,  he  let  his  wife  cut  off  the  tails  of  his  frock 
coat,  to  fashion  herself  a  pair  of  nice  blue  leggins. 
His  silver-lace  hat-band  she  took  for  garters.  The 
rest  of  his  coat  he  gave  to  his  brother;  and  now  he 
wore  his  white  shirt  with  the  tails  outside. 

He  gave  away  his  boots — ^which  hurt  his  feet.  He 
gave  away  the  tails  of  his  shirt,  also  his  brass  studs 
and  sleeve-buttons.  And  with  his  keg  of  rum,  and  his 
broad-sword  dragging  and  tripping  him,  he  paid  visits 
from  lodge  to  lodge,  and  whistled  **  Yankee  Doodle.'' 

241 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

Pretty  soon  he  had  nothing  left  but  his  blue  um- 
brella. That  was  the  only  thing  he  kept.  Even  his 
ihat  was  gone;  his  sword  was  used  by  his  wife,  as  a 
meat  chopper.    And  still  he  was  not  popular. 

Each  night  men  and  women  gathered  from  near 
and  far,  to  hear  him  talk,  in  his  lodge.  They  sat  silent 
and  critical,  while  he  told  them  the  honest  truth. 

He  worked  very  hard.  He  labored  to  describe  the 
long  journey,  and  the  marvelous  number  of  white  man's 
lodges,  and  villages,  and  the  stage  coaches,  and  the 
railroads;  the  forts,  and  the  ships-of-many-big-guns, 
and  the  tremendous  *' council-house"  at  Washington; 
and  the  patent  office  (great-medicine-place,  filled  with 
curious  machines) ;  and  the  war  parade  of  American 
soldiers,  and  the  balloon — a  huge  ball  which  carried  a 
man  to  the  Great  Spirit  in  the  sky ;  and  the  beautiful 
white  squaws  with  red  cheeks. 

The  people  listened;  and  when  they  went  out  they 
said  among  themselves :  *  *  Those  things  are  not  true. 
The  Pigeon 's-egg  Head  is  the  greatest  liar  in  the  world. 
The  other  nations  will  laugh  at  the  Assiniboins.^' 

Wijunjon  did  not  despair.  He  was  so  full  of  words 
that  he  simply  must  talk,  or  burst.  He  wished  that 
he  might  bring  forward  the  other  Assiniboin  who  had 
been  with  him  and  who  knew  that  all  these  stories  were 
true;  but  the  other  Assiniboin  had  died  on  the  way 
home.     That  was  too  bad. 

However,  he  stuck  to  his  stories,  for  he  knew  that 
he  was  right.  His  people  had  sent  him  to  see,  and  he 
had  seen,  and  he  spoke  only  true  words. 

After  a  while,  the  Assiniboins  took  a  different  view 

242 


A  TRAVELER  TO  WASHINGTON 

of  Wijunjon.  Any  person  who  had  such  stories  in  his 
brain  was  certainly  great  medicine.  No  common  liar 
could  invent  these  stories  about  impossible  wonders. 

Yes,  Wijunjon  was  doubtless  taught  by  a  spirit.  He 
had  dreamed. 

Now  the  Assiniboin  people  looked  upon  Wijunjon 
with  awe  and  fear.  A  person  equipped  with  such 
power  might  be  very  dangerous.  They  decided  that 
he  ought  to  be  killed. 

Meanwhile  Wijunjon  went  right  on  telling  his  stories. 
He  still  had  hopes — and  besides,  it  was  pleasant  to  be 
the  center  of  a  gaping  circle,  and  to  walk  around  with 
folks  gazing  so  at  him. 

There  was  a  young  man  who  agreed  to  rid  the  Assini- 
boins  of  this  wizard.  Beyond  question,  W^ijunjon  was 
too  great  medicine  to  be  killed  by  an  ordinary  bullet ; 
another  way  should  be  found. 

This  young  man,  also,  was  a  dreamer.  And  in  his 
dreams  he  was  told,  he  said,  how  to  kill  Wijunjon. 
The  wizard  must  be  shot  with  an  iron  pot  handle! 
Nothing  else  would  do  the  work. 

Accordingly,  the  young  man  appointed  to  kill  Wi- 
junjon for  being  bad  medicine,  found  an  iron  pot 
handle,  and  spent  a  whole  day  filing  it  down  to  fit  into 
the  muzzle  of  his  gun.  Then  from  behind  he  shot  the 
terrible  Pigeon 's-egg  Head  and  scattered  his  lying 
brains  about,  and  the  wizard  fell  dead. 


243 


CHAPTER  XX 

THE  BLACKFEET  DEFY  THE  CROWS  (1834) 
**COME  AND  TAKE  US*' 

SOUTHWEST  from  the  Mandans  there  lived  the 
Crow  nation.  They  roved  through  the  Yellow- 
stone River  country  of  southern  Montana  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains ;  and  southward  through  the  mountains  into 
the  Wind  River  and  Big  Horn  country  of  western 
Wyoming. 

West  from  the  Mandans  there  lived  the  Blackfeet 
nation.  They  roved  through  the  Missouri  country  of 
northern  Montana,  and  north  into  Canada. 

The  land  of  the  Crows  and  of  the  Blackfeet  over- 
lapped. The  two  peoples  were  at  w-ar,  on  the  plains 
and  in  the  mountains. 

By  reason  of  their  wars,  the  Crow  nation  had  shrunk 
until  they  were  down  to  seven  thousand  people,  with 
many  more  women  than  men.  But  their  warriors  were 
tall  and  stately,  their  women  industrious,  their  garb 
elegant.  Their  buffalo-hide  lodges  and  their  buffalo- 
robe  clothing  were  the  whitest,  finest  in  the  West. 
They  had  countless  horses.  !And  the  long  hair  of  their 
men  set  them  high  in  dignity. 

Oiled  every  morning  with  bear's  grease,  the  hair  of 
a  proud  Crow  warrior  swept  the  ground  behind  him. 
The  hair  of  Chief  Long-hair  measured  ten  feet,  seven 

244 


THE  BLACKFEET  DEFY  THE  CROWS 

inches,  and  rolled  into  a  bunch  it  weighed  several 
pounds.  When  it  had  turned  white,  he  worshipped  it 
as  his  medicine. 

The  Crows '  name  for  themselves  was  Ab-sa-ro-ke — 
Sparrow  Hawk  People.  They  were  of  the  Siouan  fam- 
ily and  cousins  of  the  Minnetarees,  the  Bird-woman's 
captors.  They  had  no  villages,  except  where  they 
camped.  They  were  dark,  as  high  and  mighty  in  their 
bearing  as  the  Mohawks  or  Senecas,  were  wonderful 
riders  and  looked  upon  the  white  men  not  as  worthy 
enemies  but  as  persons  who  should  be  plundered  of 
horses  and  goods. 

In  the  white  men's  camps  they  were  polite — and  took 
away  with  them  whatever  they  could.  However,  many 
white  traders  spoke  well  of  the  Crows. 

The  name  of  the  Blackfeet  was  Sik-sik-a,  which 
means  the  same.  It  referred  to  their  black  moccasins. 
They  were  Algonqulns,  and  in  power  ranked  with  the 
Iroquois  of  the  East.  The  Blackfeet,  the  Bloods  and 
the  Piegans  formed  the  league  of  the  Siksika  nation. 
They  warred  right  and  left,  with  the  Crees,  the  Assini- 
boins,  the  Sioux,  the  Crows,  the  Pierced  Noses,  and  with 
practically  all  tribes;  they  were  hostile  to  the  white 
Americans  who  hunted  in  their  country ;  but  their  wars 
had  not  cut  them  down,  for  they  numbered  close  to 
forty  thousand  people. 

Like  the  Crows  their  enemy-neighbors  they  were 
rovers,  never  staying  long  in  one  spot.  They  were  un- 
like the  Crows  in  appearance,  being  shorter,  broad- 
shouldered  and  deep-chested.  No  warriors  were  more 
feared. 

245 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

In  November  of  1834,  amidst  the  Wind  River  Moun- 
tains of  western  Wyoming  five  hundred  Crows  were 
ahorse,  at  early  morning,  to  chase  the  buffalo.  And  a 
gallant  sight  they  made  as  they  rode  gaily  out ;  in  their 
white  robes,  their  long  plaited  hair  flying,  their  best 
horses  prancing  under  them  and  decorated  with  red 
streamers. 

Chief  Grizzly  Bear  led.  Chief  Long-hair,  now  al- 
most eighty  years  of  age,  was  with  another  band. 

In  this  Chief  Grizzly  Bear  band  there  rode  a  party 
of  white  beaver-hunters  who  were  to  spend  the  winter 
with  the  Crows.  They  now  were  to  be  shown  how  the 
Crows  killed  buffalo. 

Pretty  soon,  while  the  Crows  cantered  on,  they 
sighted  a  group  of  moving  figures  at  the  base  of  the 
hills  two  or  three  miles  distant  across  the  valley. 
Everybody  stopped  short  to  peer.  Buffalo  ?  No  I  In- 
dians, on  foot  and  in  a  hurry — Blackf eet ! 

How,  from  so  far  away,  the  Crows  could  tell  that 
these  were  Blackf  eet,  the  white  men  did  not  know.  But 
with  a  yell  of  joy  and  rage,  every  Crow  lashed  his  horse 
and  forward  they  all  dashed,  racing  to  catch  the  hated 
Blackf  eet. 

The  white  hunters  followed  hard.  It  was  to  be  an 
Indian  battle,  instead  of  an  Indian  buffalo-chase. 

The  Blackfeet  numbered  less  than  one  hundred. 
They  were  a  war  party.  Were  they  hunting  buffalo, 
they  would  have  been  on  horseback ;  but  even  among  the 
horse  Indians  the  war  parties  were  likely  to  travel  on 
foot,  so  as  to  be  able  to  hide  more  easily.  They  counted 
upon  stealing  horses,  for  the  homeward  trail. 

246 


THE  BLACKFEET  DEFY  THE  CROWS 

These  Blackfeet  had  been  very  rash,  but  that  was 
Blackf  oot  nature.  They  had  sighted  the  Crows  as  soon 
as  the  Crows  had  sighted  them,  and  were  hustling  at 
best  speed  to  get  back  into  the  hills. 

The  Crows,  whooping  gladly  and  expecting  to  make 
short  work  of  their  enemies,  first  made  short  work  of 
the  distance.  Their  robes  were  dropped,  their  guns 
loaded,  their  bows  were  strung,  they  spread  out  wider — 
the  Blackfeet  were  cut  off  and  desperately  scrambling 
up  a  rocky  slope — could  never  make  it — ^never,  never — 
they  had  halted — ^what  were  they  doing! 

Aha!  From  the  hill  slope  there  arose  answering 
whoops ;  a  few  guns  cracked ;  and  at  the  base  and  half- 
way up,  the  Crows  stopped  and  gazed  and  yelled. 

The  plucky  Blackfeet  had  * '  f orted. ' '  They  were  in  a 
natural  fort  of  rock  wall  On  either  side  of  them  a 
rock  out-crop  in  a  ridge  four  feet  high  extended  up 
hill,  to  meet,  near  the  top,  a  cross-ridge  ten  feet  high. 

AMiile  half  the  warriors  defended  with  guns  and 
bows,  the  other  half  were  busily  piling  up  brush  and 
boulders,  to  close  the  down-hill  opening. 

Now  whoop  answered  whoop  and  threat  answered 
threat,  while  the  Crows  rode  around  and  around,  at  safe 
distance,  seeking  a  weak  place.  Chief  Grizzly  Bear 
held  council  with  the  sub-chiefs.  Away  sped  an  ex- 
press, to  get  reinforcements  from  the  camp. 

At  the  first  charge  upon  the  fort,  three  Crows  had 
been  killed,  and  only  one  Blackf  oot.  That  would  never 
do :  three  scalps  in  trade  for  one  was  a  poor  count,  to 
the  Crows. 

They  were  five  hundred,  the  Blackfeet  were  only 

247 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

ninety ;  but  the  Crows  held  off,  waiting  their  reinforce- 
ments, while  from  their  fort  the  Blackf eet  yelled  taunt 
after  taunt. 

**  Bring  up  your  squaws'!  Let  them  lead  you.  But 
our  scalps  will  never  dry  in  a  Crow;  lodge ! ' ' 

Here,  at  last,  came  the  people  from  the  camp :  the  old 
men,  women,  boys — everybody  who  could  mount  a  horse 
and  who  could  find  a  weapon ;  all  shrieking  madly  until 
the  whole  valley  rang  with  savage  cries. 

Matters  looked  bad  for  the  Blackfeet.  At  least  two 
thousand  Crows  were  surrounding  them,  hooting  at 
them,  shaking  guns  and  bows  and  spears  at  them.  And 
the  Blackfeet,  secure  in  their  fort,  jeered  back.  They 
were  brave  warriors. 

Chief  Grizzly  Bear  called  Janother  council.  In  spite 
of  all  the  gesturing  and  whooping  and  firing  of  guns, 
the  Blackfeet  were  unharmed.  The  Crows  had  little 
heart  for  charging  in,  upon  the  muzzles  of  those  deadly 
pieces  with  the  fierce  Blackfeet  behind. 

The  white  beaver-hunters,  not  wishiag  to  anger  the 
Blackfeet,  and  curious  to  see  what  was  about  to  happen, 
withdrew  to  a  clump  of  cedar  trees,  about  two  hundred 
yards  from  the  fort.  ,The  white  men  had  decided  to  be 
spectators,  in  a  grand-stand. 

Presently  Chief  Grizzly  Bear  and  his  chiefs  seemed 
to  have  agreed  upon  a  plan  of  battle.  Had  they  been 
white  men,  themselves,  they  would  have  stormed  the 
fort  at  once,  and  carried  the  fight  to  close  quarters ;  but 
that  was  not  Indian  way. 

To  lose  a  warrior  was  a  serious  matter.  [Warriors 
were  not  made  in  a  day.    And  without  warriors,  a  tribe 

248 


THE  BLACKFEET  DEFY  THE  CROWS 

would  soon  perish.  **He  who  fights  and  runs  away, 
may  live  to  fight  another  day/'  was  the  Indians '  motto. 
They  preferred  to  play  safe. 

Now  the  Crows  formed  in  line,  two  or  three  hun- 
dred abreast,  and  charged  as  if  they  were  intending  to 
run  right  over  the  fort.  It  was  a  great  sight.  But  it 
did  not  frighten  the  Blackfeet. 

Up  the  hill  slope  galloped  the  Crow  warriors  and 
boys,  shooting  and  yelling.  The  stout  Blackfeet, 
crouched  behind  their  barricade,  volleyed  back;  and 
long  before  the  Crows  drove  their  charge  home,  it 
broke. 

Soon  several  more  Crow  warriors  were  lying  on  the 
field.  The  wails  of  the  squaws  sounded  loudly.  No 
Blackfeet  had  been  hurt. 

The  Crows  changed  their  tactics.  They  avoided  the 
fort,  until  they  had  gained  the  top  of  the  hill.  Then 
in  a  long  single  file,  they  tore  past  that  end  of  the  fort, 
letting  fly  with  bullet  and  arrow  as  they  sped  by. 

Each  warrior  threw  himself  to  the  opposite  side 
of  his  horse,  and  hanging  there  with  only  one  arm  and 
one  leg  exposed  to  the  fort,  shot  under  his  horse's 
neck. 

It  was  an  endless  chain  of  riders,  shuttling  past  the 
fort,  and  shooting — ^but  that  did  not  work. 

The  Blackfeet  arrows  and  bullets  caught  the  horses, 
and  once  in  a  while  a  rider;  and  soon  there  were  ten 
Crows  down. 

The  Crows  quit,  to  rest  their  horses,  and  to  talk. 
Their  women  were  wailing  still  more  loudly.  War  was 
hard  on  the  women,  too.    For  every  relative  killed, 

249 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

they  had  to  cut  off  a  finger  joint,  besides  gashing  their 
faces  and  hands  with  knives. 

In  their  little  fort,  the  Blackfeet  were  as  boldly  de- 
fiant as  ever. 

** Come  and  take  us!'' they  gibed.  ** Where  are  the 
Crow  men?  We  thought  we  saw  Crow  men  among 
you.  Come  and  take  us,  but  you  will  never  take  us 
alive  1" 

**What  will  be  done  nowT'  the  white  men  queried 
of  a  black  man  who  had  joined  them,  in  the  clump  of 
cedars. 

He  was  not  all  black.  He  was  half  white,  one  quar- 
ter negro  and  one  quarter  Cherokee.  He  had  lived 
over  twenty  years  in  the  Indian  country  of  the  upper 
Missouri  Eiver ;  mainly  with  the  Crows.  Edward  Rose 
had  been  his  name,  when  young;  but  now  he  was  a 
wrinkled,  stout  old  man,  called  Cut-nose,  and  looked 
like  a  crinkly-headed  Indian. 

**The  Crows  are  losing  too  many  warriors.  They 
have  no  stomach  for  that  kind  of  work,''  answered  the 
old  squaw-man. 

The  Crow  chiefs  and  braves  were  seated  in  a  circle, 
near  the  cedars,  and  listening  to  the  speakers  who  stood 
up,  one  after  another. 

**Our  marrow-bones  are  broken,"  some  asserted. 
*'The  enemy  is  in  a  fort;  we  are  outside.  We  will  lose 
more  men  than  he.  Let  us  draw  off;  and  when  he  is 
in  the  open,  we  can  then  attack  as  we  please." 

**He  is  few;  we  are  many.  Our  slain  warriors  and 
their  women  cry  for  vengeance,"  asserted  others. 
*  *  We  will  be  called  cowards  if  we  retreat.    If  we  charge 

250 


THE  BLACKFEET  DEFY  THE  CROWS 

all  together  we  may  lose  a  few  braves,  but  there  will 
be  no  Blackfeet  left  to  laugh  at  us/' 

These  seemed  to  be  the  voices  that  carried.  The 
pipe  was  passed  around  the  circle,  every  man  puffed  at 
it,  and  the  council  broke  up  in  a  tremendous  yelling. 

Now  the  end  of  the  Blackfeet  loomed  large.  Ahorse 
and  afoot  the  Crows  massed,  to  charge  from  below  and 
on  either  flank.  Their  chiefs  hastened  hither  and 
thither,  urging  them.  The  women  and  children 
shrieked  encouragement. 

In  their  little  fort  the  Blackfeet  also  listened  to  their 
chiefs.  They  showed  not  the  slightest  sign  of  fear. 
Their  fierce  faces  glared  over  the  ramparts.  Their 
weapons  were  held  firmly. 

The  Crows  had  aroused  themselves  to  such  a  pitch 
that  they  acted  half  insane.  Forward  they  charged 
in  howling  masses — ^but  the  bullets  and  arrows  pelted 
them  thickly,  more  warriors  fell — they  scattered  and 
ran  away.    The  Blackfeet  hooted  them. 

This  made  old  Cut-nose  mad.  He  hastened  out  to 
where  the  Crows  were  collected  in  doubt  what  next  to 
do,  and  climbed  upon  a  rock,  that  they  all  might  see 
him. 

** Listen!"  he  shouted.  **You  act  as  if  you  expected 
to  kill  the  enemy  with  your  noise.  Your  voices  are 
big  and  your  hearts  are  small.  These  white  men  see 
that  the  Crows  cannot  protect  their  hunting  grounds ; 
they  will  not  trade  with  a  nation  of  cowards  and 
women;  they  will  trade  with  the  Blackfeet,  who  own 
the  country.  The  Blackfeet  will  go  home  and  tell  the 
people  that  three  thousand  Crows  could  not  take  ninety 

251 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

warriors.  After  this  no  nation  will  have  anything  to 
do  with  the  Crows.  I  am  ashamed  to  be  found  among 
the  Crows.  I  told  the  white  men  that  you  could  fight. 
Now  I  will  show  you  how  black  men  and  white  men 
can  fight. ' ' 

And  he  leaped  from  his  rock,  and  without  glancing 
behind  him  he  ran  for  the  fort.  The  Crows  did  not 
delay  an  instant.  Pellmell  they  rushed  after  him, 
caught  up  with  him,  swarmed  against  the  brush  and 
rock  walls — the  Blackf ect  met  them  stanchly,  and  gave 
way  not  an  inch — and  the  fighting  was  terrible. 

But  over  the  barricade  poured  the  Crows.  In  a  mo- 
ment the  whole  interior  was  a  dense  mass  of  Indians, 
engaged  hand  to  hand,  and  every  one  yelling  until,  as 
said  the  white  men,  **The  noise  fairly  lifted  the  caps 
from  our  heads." 

Guns  and  hatchets  and  clubs  and  knives  rose  and  fell. 
The  Crow  women  were  pressing  to  the  outskirts,  to 
kill  the  wounded  enemy.  Gradually  the  weight  of  the 
Crows  forced  the  Blackf eet  back.  The  Blackfeet  be- 
gan to  emerge  over  the  upper  end  of  the  fort — their 
faces  still  to  the  foe. 

Presently  all  who  might  escape,  were  outside — ^but 
their  enemies  surrounded  them  at  once.  The  Blackfeet 
remaining  were  not  many.  They  never  faltered  nor 
signed  surrender.  They  only  sang  their  death  chants ; 
and  forming  in  close  order  they  moved  along  the  ridgo 
like  one  man,  cutting  a  way  with  their  knives. 

By  the  half  dozen  they  dropped;  even  those  who 
dropped,  fought  until  they  were  dead.  Soon  the  pla- 
toon was  merely  a  squad ;  the  squad  melted  to  a  spot ; 

252 


THE  BLACKFEET  DEFY  THE  CROWS 

there  was  a  swirl,  covering  the  spot ;  and  the  spot  had 
been  washed  out. 

Not  a  Blackfoot  was  left,  able  to  stand.  The 
wounded  who  had  lost  their  weapons  hurled  taunts,  as 
they  lay  helpless,  until  the  Crows  finished  them  also. 
Truly  had  the  Blackfeet  yelled:  **Come  and  take  us  I 
But  you  will  never  take  us  alive!" 

This  night  there  was  much  mourning  in  the  Crow 
camp.  Thirty  chiefs  and  braves  had  been  killed,  twice 
that  number  wounded,  and  many  horses  disabled.  No 
prisoner  had  been  brought  in,  to  pay  by  torture.  The 
Blackfeet  nation  would  look  upon  the  fight  as  their 
victory. 

So  the  Crow  dead  were  buried ;  and  into  each  grave 
of  chief  or  brave  were  placed  his  weapons  and  the 
shaved  off  mane  and  tail  of  his  best  horse — for  every 
hair  would  become  a  horse  for  him,  in  the  spirit  world. 


253 


CHAPTER  XXI 

THE  STRONG  MEDICINE  OF  KONATE  (1839) 
THE   STORY   OF   THE   KIOWA   MAGIC   STAFF 

THE  Kiowas  are  of  the  great  Athapascan  family  of 
Indians.  In  their  war  days  they  ranged  from  the 
Platte  River  of  western  Nebraska  down  into  New  Mex- 
ico and  Texas.  But  their  favorite  hunting  grounds  lay 
south  of  the  Arkansas  River  of  western  Kansas  and 
southeastern  Colorado. 

It  was  a  desert  country,  of  whity-yellow  sand  and 
sharp  bare  hills,  with  the  Rocky  Mountains  distant  in 
the  west,  and  the  only  green  that  of  the  trees  and  brush 
along  the  water-courses.  Nevertheless  it  was  a  very 
good  kind  of  country. 

It  had  plenty  of  buffalo.  The  timber  and  the  streams 
supplied  winter  shelter.  The  wagon-road  of  the  white 
merchants,  between  the  Missouri  River  and  Santa  Fe 
of  New  Mexico,  ran  through  the  middle  of  it  and  fur- 
nished much  plunder.  In  the  south,  where  lay  Co- 
manche land  and  Apache  land,  there  were  Mexican  set- 
tlements that  furnished  horses. 

With  the  Comanches  and  Apaches,  and  with  the 
Cheyennes  and  Arapahos  north,  the  Kiowas  were 
friends.  To  the  Pawnees  they  were  enemies,  and  their 
name  carried  dread  through  many  years  of  fighting. 

Now  in  the  summer  of  1839,  twenty  Kiowa  warriors 

254 


THE  STRONG  MEDICINE  OF  KONATE 

left  their  village  near  the  Arkansas  River  in  present 
southern  Kansas,  to  go  down  across  Comanche  coun- 
try and  get  horses  and  mules  from  the  Pasunke,  or  the 
Mexicans  of  El  Paso,  which  is  on  the  Rio  Grande  River 
border  between  northwestern  Texas  and  Mexico. 
However,  in  those  days  all  that  region  was  Mexico. 

The  head  chief  of  the  party  was  old  Do-has-an,  or 
Bluif.  But  he  did  not  command.  Gua-da-lon-te,  or 
Painted-red,  was  the  war  chief.  Dohasan  would  take 
command  only  in  case  Gua-da-lon-te  was  killed. 
Among  the  warriors  there  were  Dagoi,  and  Kon-a-te, 
whose  name  means  ** Black-tripe." 

After  several  days'  travel  horseback  clear  across 
New  Mexico  they  came  to  El  Paso  town,  where  many 
goods  were  stored  on  the  way  between  New  Mexico 
and  Old  Mexico,  and  where  the  people  got  rich  by  trad- 
ing and  by  making  wine  from  grapes.  But  they  could 
see  soldiers  guarding  El  Paso;  so  they  did  not  dare 
to  charge  in  and  gather  horses  and  mules  from  the 
frightened  Pasunke. 

Dohasan,  who  was  wise  as  well  as  brave,  advised 
against  it. 

** Another  time,"  he  said.  *'We  are  too  few,  and 
we  are  a  long  way  from  home.  Let  us  go,  and  come 
again.  Maybe  on  the  way  up  we  will  meet  with  luck 
among  the  other  villages." 

They  rested  only  the  one  night,  and  turned  back, 
thinking  that  they  had  not  been  discovered.  At  the 
end  of  a  day's  journey  through  a  bad,  waterless  land, 
they  halted  and  camped  by  a  spring,  of  which  they 
knew. 

255 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

It  was  a  big  rock-sink  or  round,  deep  basin,  with  a 
pool  of  water  at  the  bottom,  and  a-  cave  that  extended 
under  a,  shelf. 

The  Mexican  soldiers  must  have  struck  their  trail, 
or  perhaps  had  followed  them  from  El  Paso ;  for  early 
in  the  morning  there  was  a  sudden  shooting  from  all 
around,  and  much  yelling.  Bullets  whined  and  spatted, 
and  horses  screamed  and  fell  over. 

*  *  Into  the  cave ! ' '  shouted  Painted-red.    ' '  Quick ! ' ' 

Hustled  by  old  Bluff  and  Painted-red,  into  the  cave 
they  bolted.  Nobody  had  been  hurt,  and  the  soldiers 
were  afraid  to  venture  in  after  them,  but  right  speedily 
fliey  found  themselves  badly  off. 

The  soldiers  camped  along  the  edge  of  the  well, 
above,  so  as  to  kill  them  by  thirst  and  hunger.  Only 
in  the  darkness  might  the  Kiowas,  two  or  three  at  a 
time,  crawl  out  of  the  cave,  gulp  a  few  swallows  from 
the  pool,  maybe  slash  a  strip  of  horse -meat,  and  scuttle 
in  again. 

While  doing  this,  Dagoi  was- shot  in  the  leg,  so  that 
he  could  not  walk.  In  a  couple  of  days  the  dead  horses 
began  to  decay,  for  the  sun  was  very  hot.  The  smell 
grew  sickening.  The  flesh  was  sickening.  One  or  two 
of  the  dead  horses  lay  in  the  pool,  and  the  water  got 
sickening.  The  Mexican  soldiers  stayed  close  and 
watchful,  and  yelled  insults  in  Spanish. 

But  they  had  with  them  several  Apache  scouts ;  and 
one  of  the  Apaches  called  in  Comanche,  so  that  the 
soldiers  would  not  understand. 

**Be  of  good  cheer,  brothers,"  he  called.  **Be 
strong  and  hold  out,  until  these  dogs  of  Mexicans  tire. " 

256 


Young  Kiowa  Girl 
Courtesy  of  Tho   Field  Museum. 


*THE  STRONG  MEDICINE  OF  KONATE 

The  Kiowas  had  no  thought  of  surrendering.  They 
would  rather  die  where  they  were,  because  if  they  sur- 
rendered, they  would  be  killed  anyway.  Old  Dohasan 
and  others  among  them  belonged  to  the  society  of  Ka- 
itse-nko  or  Keal  Dogs — whose  members  were  under  a 
vow  never  to  surrender. 

Part  of  them  guarded  the  cave's  mouth,  and  the  rest 
explored  back  inside.  At  the  very  end  there  was  a 
hole  which  let  in  daylight.  Konate  was  boosted  up; 
but  when  he  stuck  his  head  through,  a  soldier  saw  it 
and  he  had  to  duck  down.  Thereupon  the  soldiers 
stopped  the  hole  with  a  large  rock. 

When  ten  days  and  nine  nights  had  passed,  they  all 
decided  that  they  would  either  escape  or  be  killed. 
The  horse  meat  could  not  be  touched ;  neither  could  the 
water.  It  was  better  to  die  in  the  open,  like  men,  than 
to  die  in  a  hole,  like  gophers. 

The  soldiers  guarded  the  only  trail  that  led  up  the 
side  of  the  cliff  wall,  out  of  the  well ;  but  at  another  side 
there  was  a  cedar  which  had  rooted  in  a  crack  and  al- 
most reached  the  rim.  By  hard  climbing  a  man  might 
manage  to  scramble  up  and  gain  the  open. 

But  what  to  do  with  Dagoi,  who  had  only  one  leg 
and  was  weak  from  pain? 

**You  will  not  leave  me,  my  brothers?''  implored 
Dagoi.  **It  is  true  I  am  wounded,  but  if  you  leave 
me,  I  shall  surely  die.  Perhaps  you  can  carry  me  on 
your  backs.  Or  wait  a  day  or  two,  and  the  soldiers 
will  grow  tired. '^ 

*  *  No, "  said  old  Dohasan.  *  *  That  is  impossible.  We 
must  move  fast,  and  to  get  you  up  the  tree  would  make 

257 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

noise.  If  we  wait,  or  if  we  stay,  we  will  all  die,  and 
it  is  better  that  one  should  die  than  that  all  should  die. 
Have  a  strong  heart,  my  son.  You  are  a  warrior,  and 
you  must  die  like  a  warrior." 

Dagoi  bowed  his  head. 

** Those  are  good  words,''  he  answered.  *'I  hear 
them  and  they  make  me  strong.  I  am  a  man,  and  I 
am  not  afraid.  When  you  get  home,  tell  my  friends 
to  come  and  avenge  me." 

In  the  darkness  Dagoi  dragged  himself  to  the  pool, 
and  sat  beside  it,  waiting  for  daylight  and  the  bullets 
of  the  soldiers. 

Old  Dohasan  sang  the  death-chant  of  the  Real  Dogs. 
Then  he  stepped  silently  out,  leading  the  file  of  war- 
riors to  the  wall  under  the  tree,  that  he  might  be  the 
first  to  climb  and  meet  the  soldiers  in  case  they  were 
on  watch. 

Up  he  went,  into  the  cedar,  and  on ;  up  went  all,  one 
after  another,  as  fast  as  they  could.  The  camp-fires 
of  the  Mexican  soldiers  were  glowing,  right  and  left 
and  behind  and  before,  along  the  rim;  but  without  a 
sound  the  nineteen  gaunt  Kiowas,  bending  low,  stole 
swiftly  forward,  at  the  heels  of  Dohasan. 

They  succeeded.  But  in  finding  horses,  somebody 
made  a  little  noise,  and  the  Mexicans  fired  wildly  into 
the  darkness.  However,  answering  not,  and  leading 
the  horses  out  a  short  way,  step  by  step,  they  were 
ready  to  vault  on. 

'*  Anybody  hurtT' 

**A  bullet  has  gone  through  my  body,"  said  Konate. 
**ButIwilltry  toride." 

258 


THE  STRONG  MEDICINE  OF  KONATE 

**We  must  huriy,"  spoke  Painted-red.  The  camp 
was  all  aroused.    *  *  Someone  help  Konate. ' ' 

Away  they  dashed,  several  riding  double,  and  Konate 
supported  in  his  seat  by  a  comrade.  Behind,  in  the 
well,  Dagoi  sat  beside  the  pool  and  kept  his  heart 
strong  for  the  end  that  would  come  by  daylight. 

All  that  night  and  all  the  next  day  they  rode,  mak- 
ing northeast  toward  the  desolate  desert  region  of  the 
Staked  Plain,  on  the  homeward  way  across  western 
Texas.  No  Mexican  soldiers  would  follow  into  the 
Staked  Plain. 

When  after  hard  riding  they  arrived  at  Sun-moun- 
tain Spring,  on  the  top  of  a  high,  bare-rock  hill  near 
the  Staked  Plain,  Konate 's  wound  had  spoiled  in  him 
and  he  could  not  sit  upright  on  his  horse.  He  was  very 
ill. 

*^I  am  about  to  die,  friends,"  he  gasped.  **Do  not 
try  to  carry  me  farther.  But  go,  yourselves ;  and  some 
day  come  back  for  my  bones." 

He  spoke  sense.  Any  one  might  see  that  he  had  only 
a  few  hours  to  live,  and  that  soon  his  comrades  would 
be  carrying  only  a  body  across  the  Staked  Plain,  where 
the  sun  beat  hotly  and  water  was  far  apart. 

It  was  better  that  they  leave  him  here,  at  the  spring 
where  they  might  find  his  bones.  So  on  the  water's 
edge  they  built  a  shade  for  Konate,  with  a  few  crooked 
cedar  branches,  and  bidding  him  goodby  they  rode  on, 
into  the  great  Staked  Plain. 

They  expected  that  they  would  never  seen  him  again. 

What  happened  now  to  Konate,  he  often  told,  and  he 
told  it  always  the  same ;  therefore  it  must  be  true. 

259 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

For  the  rest  of  the  long  day  he  lay  there,  with  the 
sun  beating  down  around  him,  and  his  mind  and  body 
very  sick  from  his  wound.  He  was  unable  to  sleep. 
The  sun  set,  and  the  air  changed  to  cool,  the  twilight 
deepened  to  dusk;  alone  on  his  hilltop  he  closed  his. 
eyes,  and  waited  for  the  spirit  of  the  tai-me,  or  Sun- 
dance medicine,  to  bear  him  to  his  fathers. 

In  the  star-light  he  heard  a  wolf  howl,  far  off.  He 
listened,  and  the  howl  sounded  again,  nearer,  from  an- 
other direction.  Then  he  knew  that  the  wolf  had 
scented  him  and  was  ranging  to  find  his  spot.  That 
would  be  bad — to  be  eaten  by  a  wolf  and  have  one's 
bones  scattered! 

Konate  groaned.  His  heart  had  been  strong,  until 
this  moment.  He  had  hoped  that  his  bones  would  be 
cared  for. 

Soon  he  heard  the  wolf,  at  hand ;  there  was  the  soft 
patter  of  its  pads,  and  the  sniflGng  of  its  inquiring  nose, 
seeking  him  out.  And  now  he  saw  the  wolf,  with  shin- 
ing eyes  peering  into  the  bough  shelter  where  he  lay 
helpless,  unable  even  to  speak. 

That  was  an  agonizing  moment,  for  Konate.  But 
lo,  instead  of  jumping  upon  him,  the  wolf  trotted  for- 
ward, and  gently  licked  his  wounds,  and  then  lay 
quietly  down  beside  him. 

Konate  was  amazed  and  thankful.  [While  the  wolf 
lay  there,  next  he  heard  another  sound,  in  the  distance : 
the  shrill  eagle-bone-whistle  music  of  the  great  Sun- 
dance of  the  Kiowa  nation.  The  music  drew  nearer, 
and  he  heard  the  Sun-dance  song;  and  while  he  lis- 
tened, strong  of  heart  again,  he  saw  the  medicine  spirit 

260 


THE  STRONG  MEDICINE  OF  KONATE 

of  the  Sun-dance  standing  before  him,  at  the  entrance 
to  the  shelter. 

^*I  pity  you  and  shall  not  let  you  die,"  said  the  medi- 
cine spirit.    *'You  shall  see  your  home  and  friends.'* 

Then  the  medicine  spirit  brought  down  a  rain,  to 
wash  Konate's  wounds  and  cool  his  fever.  The  medi- 
cine spirit  sat  with  Konate  most  of  the  night,  and  told 
him  many  things :  told  him  how  to  make  a  new  kind  of 
Sun-dance  shield,  and  also  an  a-po-te,  or  sacred  forked 
staff,  that  should  be  a  medicine  staff  and  have  magic 
powers. 

Toward  morning  the  medicine  spirit  left,  saying: 

**Help  is  near.'* 

Every  bit  of  this  Konate  firmly  insisted  was  true, 
although  white  men  claimed  that  he  dreamed.  For, 
listen : 

Meanwhile  the  Painted-red  party  were  riding  on,  and 
in  the  Staked  Plain  they  met  six  Comanches,  bound  to 
Mexico  after  plunder.  They  spoke  to  the  Comanches 
regarding  Konate,  and  asked  them  to  cover  his  body 
so  that  the  wolves  should  not  get  it. 

This  the  Comanches  promised  to  do,  and  continued 
to  the  Sun-mountain  Spring  where  Konate  had  been 
left  to  die. 

But  when  they  reached  the  spring,  they  found  Konate 
alive  and  stronger  than  when  his  comrades  had  bid 
him  goodby !  That  astonished  them.  They  then  knew^ 
that  he  was  *' medicine.'*  Therefore  they  washed  him, 
and  gave  him  food,  and  putting  him  on  an  extra  horse 
they  turned  back  and  took  him  home. 

The  village,  and  all  the  tribe,  also,  were  astonished 

261 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

to  see  him  again.  As  proof  that  he  had  been  visited 
by  the  medicine  spirit,  he  made  the  medicine  shield, 
of  a  new  design,  and  the  apote,  or  sacred  forked  stick. 

He  took  the  name  Pa-ta-dal,  or  Lean  Bull.  After 
that  the  keepers  of  the  medicine  stick  bore  the  same 
name. 

Konate  carried  the  medicine  stick  in  the  Sun-dance, 
for  several  years,  and  then  handed  it  on  to  his  nephew 
K'a-ya-nti,  or  Falls-over- a-bank,  who  became  Lean 
BuU  the  second — but  the  white  people  called  him  Poor 
Buffalo. 

This  apote  was  a  two-pronged  stick  about  four  feet 
long,  decorated  with  wild  sage.  It  was  smooth  and 
had  no  bark,  and  was  brought  out  only  once  a  year,  for 
the  Sun-dance.  The  keeper  of  it  used  it  for  beating 
time,  in  the  dance.  At  the  close  of  the  dance  it  was 
stuck,  forks  up,  in  the  ground  in  the  center  of  the  medi- 
cine lodge,  and  left  until  the  next  year. 

When  the  stick  was  eighteen  years  old  Konate 's 
nephew  planted  it  as  before,  at  the  close  of  the  Sun- 
dance, in  the  center  of  the  medicine  lodge  on  the  plain ; 
and  when  the  Kiowas  returned,  the  next  summer,  for 
another  Sun-dance,  they  discovered  that  the  apote  had 
been  planted  the  other  end  up,  and  was  putting  forth 
green  leaves! 

For  a  stick  eighteen  years  old,  without  bark,  to  do 
this,  was  certainly  great  medicine.  No  one  now  might 
doubt  the  story  of  Konate,  to  whom  the  taime  spirit 
had  talked,  under  the  bough  shelter  by  the  Sun-moun- 
tain Spring. 

None  of  the  Kiowas  dared  to  touch  the  apote,  this 

262 


THE  STRONG  MEDICINE  OF  KONATE 

time — or  to  stay  near  the  medicine  lodge.  The  dance 
was  held  at  another  place. 

When,  ten  years  later,  or  in  October,  1867,  the  Kio- 
was  met  in  a  treaty  council  with  the  United  States,  near 
the  present  town  of  Medicine  Lodge  on  Medicine  Lodge 
Creek,  southern  Kansas,  they  were  enabled  to  show 
that  the  apote  had  grown  to  be  a  large  tree. 

Such  had  been  the  strong  medicine  of  Konate,  to 
whom,  about  to  die  from  his  wounds,  in  his  shelter  by 
the  Sun-mountain  Spring  beyond  the  Staked  Plain,  the 
taime  spirit  had  talked. 

Konate  was  dead;  but  K'a-ya-nti,  his  nephew,  the 
other  keeper  of  the  stick,  was  still  alive ;  and  he  knew. 


263 


CHAPTER  XXII 
RED  CLOUD  STANDS  IN  THE  WAY  (1865-1909) 
'   THE   SIOUX  WHO  CLOSED  THE   BOAD   OF  THE   WHITES 

THE  name  Sioux  comes  down  from  a  longer  Chip- 
pewa word  meaning  * '  adder ' '  or  *  *  enemy. ' '  The 
Indians  who  bore  this  name  were  the  powerful  Dakotas 
— the  true  Sioux  of  history. 

The  wide  Nation  of  the  Lakota,  as  these  Sioux  called 
themselves,  was  a  league  of  seven  council  fires. 

The  four  divisions  of  the  Santees  lived  in  Minnesota ; 
the  two  divisions  of  the  Yanktons  lived  between  them 
and  the  Missouri  Eiver;  the  one  large  division  of  the 
Tetons  lived  in  their  Dakota  country,  west  of  the  Mis- 
souri River. 

The  Santees,  the  Yanktons  and  the  Tetons  spoke 
their  own  dialects.  They  differed  in  appearance  from 
one  another.  They  were  separated  into  tribes  and 
bands. 

Even  as  late  as  1904  they  numbered  twenty-five  thou- 
sand people  in  the  United  States.  By  mind,  muscle 
and  morals  they  have  been  rated  as  leaders  of  the  West- 
ern red  men.  They  roamed  hither- thither,  and  de- 
pended upon  the  buffalo  for  food.  They  waged  stout 
war. 

The  Tetons  were  the  strongest,  and  formed  half  of 
the  Dakota  nation.    It  was  chiefly  they  who  fought  the 

264 


Red  Cloud 
Courtesy  of  The  American  Bureau  of  KthnoloRy. 


RED  CLOUD  STANDS  IN  THE  WAY 

United  States  soldiers  for  so  long.  The  war  opened 
in  1855,  over  the  killing  of  a  crippled  cow  by  a  Min-i- 
con-jou,  at  Fort  Laramie  of  Wyonaing,  on  the  Oregon 
Trail  of  the  emigrants. 

The  Bniles,  or  Burnt  Thighs ;  the  Og-la-las,  or  Scat- 
ter-one's-own;  the  Hunk-pa-pas,  or  Those-who-camp- 
by-themselves ;  the  Min-i-con-jous,  or  Those-who-plant- 
beside-the-stream ;  the  Si-ha-sa-pas,  or  Black-mocca- 
sins :  these  were  the  Teton  Sioux  who  battled  the  hard- 
est to  save  their  buffalo  and  their  lands  from  the  white 
man. 

Eed  Cloud  at  first  was  chief  of  the  Bad  Faces  band 
of  Oglala  Sioux.  They  were  a  small  fighting  band,  but 
he  was  a  noted  brave.  His  count  showed  more  coups, 
or  strike-the-enemy  feats,  than  the  count  of  any  other 
warrior  of  the  Oglala s.  Before  he  retired  from  war, 
his  coups  numbered  eighty. 

He  was  born  in  1822.  His  Sioux  name  was  Makh- 
pia-sha,  meaning  Eed  Cloud.  In  the  beginning  it  prob- 
ably referred  to  a  cloud  at  sunrise  or  sunset;  later  it 
referred  to  his  army  of  warriors  whose  red  blankets 
covered  the  hills. 

When  he  was  forty  years  old,  there  was  much  excite- 
ment among  the  white  men  to  the  west  of  the  Sioux 
range.  From  the  mines  of  Idaho  the  gold-seekers  had 
crossed  to  the  eastern  base  of  the  Kocky  Mountains  in 
western  Montana.  Mining  camps  such  as  Helena, 
Bozeman  and  Virginia  City  sprang  up. 

The  Oregon  Trail  of  the  emigrants  already  passed 
through  the  Sioux  country,  and  the  Sioux  had  agreed 
to  let  it  alone.    Now  the  United  States  asked  permis- 

265 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

sion  to  make  a  new  road,  which  from  Fort  Laramie  of 
southern  Wyoming  would  leave  the  Oregon  Trail,  and 
branch  off  northwest,  through  the  Powder  Kiver  and 
the  Big  Horn  country  of  Wyoming,  and  on  west  across 
Montana,  as  a  short-cut  to  the  gold-fields. 

This  part  of  Wyoming  really  was  Crow  Indian  coun- 
try ;  but  the  Sioux  had  driven  the  Crows  out,  and  with 
the  Northern  Cheyennes  were  using  the  region  for  a 
hunting  ground.  The  white  man's  trails  to  the  south 
had  frightened  the  buffalo  and  reduced  the  herds;  the 
Powder  Kiver  valleys  were  the  only  ranges  left  to  the 
Sioux,  where  they  might  hunt  and  always  find  plenty 
of  meat. 

Some  of  the  Sioux  chiefs  did  sign  a  treaty  for  the 
new  road.  The  only  Oglalas  who  signed  were  sub- 
chiefs.  Eed  Cloud  did  not  sign.  The  United  States 
went  ahead,  anyway.  Troops  were  sent  forward,  to 
begin  the  work  of  building  the  road.  Ked  Cloud,  with 
his  Oglalas  and  some  Cheyennes,  surrounded  them  and 
captured  them;  held  them  prisoners  for  two  weeks,  un- 
til his  young  men  threatened  to  kill  them.  Then  he  re- 
leased them,  with  a  warning. 

*'I  shall  stand  in  the  trail,"  he  said.  Those  were  the 
words  of  Pontiac,  to  Major  Rogers,  one  hundred  years 
before. 

United  States  officials  were  ordered  to  Fort  Laramie, 
to  talk  with  the  angry  Eed  Cloud.  He  declined  to  meet 
them. 

But  already  a  number  of  white  gold-seekers  had  en- 
tered by  this  Bozeman  Trail,  as  it  was  known.  In 
June,  of  the  next  year,  1866,  the  United  States  tried 

266 


RED  CLOUD  STANDS  IN  THE  WAY 

again  to  get  Red  Cloud's  name  on  the  paper.  A  coun- 
cil was  called  at  Fort  Laramie. 

During  the  last  year,  another  fort  had  been  located. 
It  was  Fort  Reno — the  first  out-post  of  the  new  trail, 
at  the  Powder  River,  one  hundred  and  sixty-seven 
miles  along  from  Laramie. 

Red  Cloud,  and  his  lieutenant,  They-fear-even-his- 
liorses,  came  in  to  talk  with  the  United  States,  at  Fort 
Laramie.  A  great  throng  of  Indians  was  present,  for 
Fort  Laramie  was  a  busy  post. 

Nothing  could  be  done  with  the  Red  Cloud  band. 
The  United  States  was  willing  to  promise  that  nobody 
should  be  allowed  to  leave  the  new  road,  or  to  disturb 
any  game.  Red  Cloud  only  shook  his  head.  He  well 
knew  that  the  white  travelers  would  not  obey  the  law. 
They  would  hunt  and  camp,  as  they  chose. 

**Wah-nee-chee!''  he  said.  **No  good  I  Why  do 
you  come  here  and  ask  for  what  you  have  already 
taken?  A  fort  has  been  built,  and  the  road  is  being 
used.  I  say  again,  we  will  not  sell  our  hunting  grounds 
for  a  road." 

But  the  United  States  had  decided.  The  Govern- 
ment had  been  assured  by  the  treaty  makers  that  all 
the  Sioux  would  finally  yield.  There  was  last  falPs 
treaty,  as  a  starter.  The  Sioux  from  every  band  had 
signed.  Besides,  the  Government  could  not  give  up 
the  right  to  open  roads.  A  railroad  had  the  power  to 
take  right-of-way  through  towns  and  lands ;  and  a  Gov- 
ernment wagon  road  should  have  the  same  license. 

So  certain  was  the  Government  that  the  road  would 
be  opened,  that  even  while  the  council  with  the  Red 

267 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

Cloud  Oglalas  was  in  session,  there  arrived  at  Fort 
Laramie  Colonel  Henry  B.  Carrington  of  the  Eight- 
eenth Infantry,  with  seven  hundred  soldiers. 

Bed  Cloud  saw  the  camp. 

**  Where  are  those  soldiers  going  T' 

**They  are  sent  to  open  the  new  road  and  build 
forts. '^ 

*^The  Americans  seek  to  steal  our  land  whether  we 
say  yes  or  no!''  angrily  uttered  Red  Cloud.  *'They 
will  have  to  fight." 

He  and  They-fear-even-his-horses  (whom  the  white 
men  called  **Young-man-afraid-of-his-horses'')  seized 
their  rifles,  and  rode  away,  and  three  hundred  of  their 
warriors  followed  them. 

**Red  Cloud  means  war,"  warned  the  Indians  who 
remained.  **The  Great  Father  makes  us  presents,  to 
buy  the  road;  but  the  white  soldiers  come  to  steal  it 
first.  In  two  moons  the  white  war  chief  will  not  have 
a  hoof  left." 

An  express  sent  after  Red  Cloud,  to  ask  him  to  re- 
turn, was  whipped  with  bows  and  ordered  to  get  out 
and  tell  the  white  chiefs  that  Red  Cloud  would  not  talk 
about  the  road. 

Colonel  Carrington  marched  on,  into  the  forbidden 
land.  The  officers'  wives  were  with  them.  Traders 
along  the  line  insisted  that  the  Indians  were  determined 
to  fight;  but  some  of  the  emigrant  outfits  bound  over 
the  trail  to  the  mines  were  scornful  of  danger.  One 
emigrant  captain  laughed,  when  the  women  were 
timid. 

**  You'll  never  see  an  Injun  unless  he  comes  in  to  beg 

268 


RED  CLOUD  STANDS  IN  THE  WAY 

for  sugar  and  tobacco/'  he  said.  **I've  been  on  the 
plains  too  long  to  be  scared  by  such  trash/' 

This  was  at  Fort  Eeno.  That  very  morning,  in 
broad  daylight  Eed  Cloud's  band  ran  off  all  the  post 
sutler's  horses  and  mules  while  the  soldiers  looked  on. 
Eighty  men  pursued,  and  captured  only  one  Indian 
pony  loaded  with  goods  obtained  at  Fort  Laramie. 

Colonel  Carrington  left  a  detachment  here  at  the 
Powder  Eiver,  to  build  a  better  Fort  Reno.  He 
marched  on. 

Meanwhile  Red  Cloud  had  been  growing  stronger. 
Sioux  warriors  were  hastening  to  join  him.  Spotted 
Tail  of  the  Brules  had  declined  to  accept  the  treaty  for 
opening  the  road — ^he  waited  for  Red  Cloud;  but  he 
was  wisely  staying  at  home.  However,  his  Brule 
young  men  were  riding  away  in  large  numbers,  and  he 
told  the  white  people  at  Fort  Laramie  that  if  they 
*  *  went  far  on  the  trail  they  had  better  go  prepared  to 
look  out  for  their  hair." 

Eed  Cloud  was  watching  the  march  of  the  soldiers. 
He  did  not  attack ;  but  when  he  saw  them  pushing  on, 
and  finally  making  camp  to  locate  another  fort,  fifty 
miles  northwest  of  Reno,  on  Piney  Fork  of  Lodge-pole 
Creek,  in  the  Big  Horn  Mountains  of  northern  Wyo- 
ming, he  again  sent  a  message,  by  a  party  of  soldiers 
whom  he  met  and  turned  back. 

**The  white  chief  must  take  his  soldiers  out  of  this 
country.  Let  him  decide  for  peace  or  war.  If  he 
wants  peace,  he  can  go  back  to  Powder  River.  The 
fort  there  can  stay.  But  no  forts  shall  be  built  farther 
on  the  road,  and  no  soldiers  shall  march  over  the  road 

269 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

which  has  never  been  given  to  the  white  people/' 

Eed  Cloud  wanted  an  answer  at  once.  He  also  asked 
that  the  white  chief  come  to  him  with  an  interpreter, 
and  settle  matters  in  a  council.  But  the  messenger 
was  held  at  the  fort  for  a  short  time,  and  Eed  Cloud 
moved  his  warriors  to  a  new  place. 

Colonel  Carrington  invited  the  Sioux  to  come  to  the 
camp ;  and  went  ahead  building  his  fort.  Some  bands 
of  Northern  Cheyennes  appeared  for  a  talk.  They 
said  that  Red  Cloud  had  urged  them  to  join  the  Sioux 
in  keeping  the  white  men  out  of  the  hunting  grounds, 
and  that  he  knew  what  the  soldiers  had  been  doing 
every  hour  since  they  left  Fort  Laramie. 

The  Cheyennes  seemed  a  little  fearful  of  the  Sioux ; 
but  said  that  if  they  were  given  provisions,  they  would 
stay  away  from  the  white  trail. 

When  the  Cheyennes  returned  to  the  Sioux,  Red 
Cloud  asked  them  what  the  white  chief  had  said. 

**Is  he  going  back  to  the  Powder  River  T* 

**No,''  answered  Black  Horse,  of  the  Cheyennes. 
*  *  The  white  chief  will  not  go  back,  and  his  soldiers  will 
go  on." 

**What  presents  did  he  give  you?" 

^*  All  we  wanted  to  eat.  He  wishes  the  Sioux  and  the 
Cheyennes  and  all  the  other  Indians  to  go  to  Fort 
Laramie,  and  sign  the  treaty,  and  get  more  presents. 
I  think  that  we  had  better  take  the  white  man's  hand 
and  presents,  rather  than  fight  him  and  lose  every- 
thing." 

**No !"  replied  Red  Cloud.  **The  white  man  lies  and 
steals.    My  lodges  were  many ;  now  they  are  few.    The 

270 


RED  CLOUD  STANDS  IN  THE  WAY 

white  man  wants  all.    He  must  fight,  and  the  Indian 
will  die  where  his  fathers  died.'' 

With  that,  the  Sioux  unstrung  their  bows  and 
whipped  the  Cheyennes  on  the  face  and  back,  crying, 
**Coup!"  as  if  they  were  striking  the  enemy. 

So  Black  Horse  sent  word  that  the  Sioux  intended 
war. 

The  fort  was  named  Fort  Phil  Kearney.  It  was 
built  of  timber  cut  in  the  pine  woods  seven  miles  dis- 
tant, and  was  surrounded  by  a  palisade  or  high  fence 
of  thick  pickets  set  upright. 

Saw  mills  were  placed  in  the  woods,  and  the  wood- 
camps  were  protected  by  block-houses.  Almost  one 
hundred  wagons  were  used,  to  haul  the  logs  and  boards. 

One  hundred  miles  onward,  another  fort  was  started : 
Fort  C.  F.  Smith. 

The  Crows  informed  Colonel  Carrington  that  Red 
Cloud  had  tried  to  enlist  even  them — that  all  the  Sioux 
were  uniting  to  drive  out  the  white  men  from  this 
region,  and  that  in  the  fall  there  would  be  a  **big  fight*' 
at  the  two  forts. 

White  Mouth  and  Rotten  Tail  said  that  they  were 
half  a  day  in  riding  through  the  Sioux  village;  there 
were  fifteen  hundred  lodges.  In  truth,  Chief  Red 
Cloud  had  over  two  thousand  warriors,  with  whom  to 
stand  in  the  path. 

And  there  he  stood.  Nobody  might  doubt  that.  His 
raiders  watched  every  mile  of  the  trail  back  to  Powder 
River,  and  not  an  emigrant  train  got  through.  He 
himself,  with  two  thousand  warriors,  guarded  Fort 
Kearney,  where  the  white  chief  lived. 

271 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

Nobody  might  venture  from  it  to  bunt  game.  The 
wood  wagons  might  move  only  when  many  together 
and  well  armed.  Not  a  load  of  hay  could  be  brought 
in  without  strong  escort.  After  a  time  no  mail  could 
be  sent  on  to  Fort  Smith. 

Colonel  Carrington  had  five  companies  of  infantry 
and  one  company  of  the  Second  Cavalry.  The  infantry 
was  mostly  recruits.  Their  guns  were  old  style  muz- 
zle loaders ;  but  the  band  had  the  new  Spencer  breech- 
loaders. 

He  asked  for  better  guns  and  more  ammunition. 
The  Government  was  not  certain  that  the  Sioux  could 
do  much  against  soldiers  of  a  country  which  had  just 
been  trained  by  a  four  years'  war,  and  Carrington  was 
left  to  prove  it. 

Chief  Red  Cloud  had  his  first  chance  to  prove  the 
opposite  on  December  6.  He  had  been  amusing  his 
warriors  by  letting  them  gallop  past  the  fort  and  shout 
challenges  to  the  soldiers  to  come  out  and  fight;  then 
when  the  cannon  shot  at  them,  they  dodged  the  shells — 
but  did  not  always  succeed. 

The  big  guns  that  shot  twice  surprised  them. 

On  the  morning  of  December  6  Red  Cloud  struck  in 
earnest,  and  had  planned  to  strike  hard.  He  had  a 
line  of  signal  flags  seven  miles  long,  by  which  to  direct 
his  army.  Then  he  sent  a  company  to  attack  a  wood 
train. 

The  attack  on  the  wood  train  brought  the  troops  out 
of  the  fort.  One  detachment  of  thirty-five  cavalry  and 
a  few  mounted  infantry  was  commanded  by  Captain 
William  J.  Fetterman.    He  was  very  anxious  to  fight 

272 


RED  CLOUD  STANDS  IN  THE  WAY 

Indians;  in  fact,  the  officers  all  had  set  their  hearts 
upon  *^ taking  Ked  Cloud's  scalp.'' 

Captain  Fetterman  rescued  the  wagon  train,  by  chas- 
ing the  Sioux  away ;  but  in  about  five  miles  Ked  Cloud 
faced  his  men  about  and  closed.  It  was  an  ambuscade. 
The  troopers  of  the  cavalry  were  stampeded,  and  the 
captain  found  himself,  with  two  other  officers  and  a 
dozen  men,  surrounded  by  yelling  warriors. 

Colonel  Carrington  arrived  just  in  time  to  save  him ; 
but  young  Lieutenant  H.  S.  Bingham  of  the  Second 
Cavalry  was  killed,  and  so  was  Sergeant  Bowers. 

When  Captain  Fetterman  had  returned  to  the  fort 
he  had  changed  his  mind  regarding  the  prowess  of  the 
Sioux,  whom  he  had  thought  to  be  only  robbers. 

**I  have  learned  a  lesson,"  he  remarked.  *VThis  In- 
dian war  has  become  a  hand-to-hand  fight,  and  requires 
great  caution.  I'll  take  no  more  risks  like  Jhat  of 
today!" 

Ked  Cloud  was  not  satisfied.  His  warriors  had  not 
done  exactly  as  he  had  told  them  to  do.  He  bided  his 
time.  • 

On  the  morning  of  December  21  he  was  again  ready.' 
His  men  were  stationed,  waiting  for  a  wood  train  to 
appear.  It  appeared,  starting  out  to  chop  timber  in 
the  pine  woods,  and  haul  the  logs  to  the  fort. 

It  was  an  unusually  strong  train — a  number  of  heavy 
wagons,  and  ninety  armed  men. 

Ked  Cloud  let  it  get  about  four  miles  along,  and 
ordered  it  attacked.  He  had  spies  upon  a  ridge  of 
hills,  to  watch  the  fort. 

When  the  attack  y^as  heard  at  the  fort,  soldiers 

273 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

dashed  out.  The  Ked  Cloud  warriors  allowed  the 
wagon  train  to  think  that  it  had  whipped  them.  He 
withdrew,  across  the  ridge. 

The  leader  of  the  soldiers  was  Captain  Fetterman, 
again.  He  had  asked  for  the  command,  ^ith  him 
was  Captain  Fred  H.  Brown,  who  expected  to  go  back 
to  Fort  Laramie,  and  wished,  first,  to  get  a  scalp.  He 
and  Captain  Fetterman  were  rivals  for  scalps  and  had 
almost  forgotten  the  affair  of  December  6.  .They  were 
gallant  soldiers,  but  reckless. 

Altogether  the  detachment  numbered  seventy-nine 
oflScers  and  men,  and  two  scouts  named  Wh^ailej  and 
Fisher. 

Captain  Fetterman  was  distLactly  ordered  by  Colo- 
nel Carrington  to  do  nothing  but  rescue  the  wagon 
train.  He  must  not  cross  the  ridge  in  pursuit  of  the 
Sioux. 

Captain  Fetterman  did  not  move  directly  for  the 
place  of  the  wagon  train.  He  made  a  circuit,  to  cut 
off  the  attacking  Sioux,  at  their  rear,  or  between  the 
wagon  train  and  the  ridge  to  the  north  of  it. 

He  had  taken  no  surgeon,  so  Dr.  Hines  was  hurried 
after  him.  The  doctor  came  back  in  another  hurry. 
He  reported  that  the  wagon  train  was  on  its  way  to  the 
timber,  without  the  captain ;  and  that  the  captain  had 
disappeared,  over  the  ridge  I  Many  Indians  were  in 
sight,  and  the  doctor  had  been  obliged  to  stop  short. 

Now,  on  a  sudden,  there  was  a  burst  of  distant  gun- 
fire. In  twelve  minutes  a  second  detachment  of  sol- 
diers was  on  the  run,  from  the  fort  for  the  battle; 
wagons  and  ambulances  and  more  men  followed;  and 

274 


RED  CLOUD  STANDS  IN  THE  WAY 

soon  ouly  one  hundred  and  nineteen  men  remained. 

The  firing  was  very  heavy,  in  volleys — then  in  fire-at- 
will;  then  it  died  down — quit.  Not  a  sound  could  be 
heard,  as  the  women  and  men  in  Fort  Kearney  strained 
their  ears  and  eyes. 

Presently  a  courier  from  the  second  detachment  gal- 
loped headlong  in.  He  said  that  the  valley  beyond  the 
ridge  was  swarming  with  Sioux;  they  yelled  and  dared 
the  soldiers  to  come  down  to  the  road  there.  But  of 
the  Captain  Fetterman  command,  no  trace  could  be 
sighted. 

The  soldiers  and  the  reinforcements  stayed  out  all 
the  afternoon.  They  returned  at  dark;  but  of  the 
eighty-one  others,  none  came  back.  All  of  them,  the 
entire  eighty-one,  had  fallen  to  the  army  of  Red  Cloud. 

Nobody  was  alive  to  tell  the  story  of  the  fight.  The 
signs  on  the  field  were  plain,  though ;  and  of  course  the 
Eed  Cloud  warriors  knew  well  what  had  occurred. 

Captain  Fetterman  had  crossed  the  ridge,  to  chase 
the  Sioux.  Two  thousand  Red  Cloud  men  were  wait- 
ing for  him.  They  permitted  him  to  advance  to  the 
forbidden  road.  The  white  soldiers  fought  until  their 
ammunition  was  almost  spent.  Then  the  Red  Cloud 
men  rushed.  Only  six  of  the  white  soldiers  were  shot ; 
the  rest  were  killed  by  hand. 

The  plan  of  Red  Cloud  and  his  chiefs  had  been  laid 
to  get  all  the  troops  out  of  the  fort,  together ;  kill  them 
and  seize  the  fort. 

But  the  warriors  had  not  waited  long  enough.  Their 
victory  was  too  quick,  and  they  lost  too  many  men, 
themselves,  in  the  one  fight:  seventy,  of  killed  and 

275 


BOYS^     BOOK'     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

wounded,  they  said;  sixty-five  of  killed,  alone,  said  the 
red  blotches  on  the  field. 

Still,  Red  Cloud  had  closed  the  road  with  the  bodies 
of  the  soldiers.    He  had  made  his  word  good. 

The  garrison  in  Fort  Kearney  gave  up  all  thought  of 
glory  by  capturing  Red  Cloud;  and  this  winter  there 
was  no  more  fighting.  How  many  warriors  Red  Cloud 
had,  to  ** cover  the  hills  with  their  scarlet  blankets,'* 
nobody  knew ;  but  the  count  ran  from  three  thousand  to 
&ve  thousand. 

The  spring  came,  and  the  summer  came,  and  the  road 
had  not  been  opened.  In  more  than  a  year,  not  a  sin- 
gle wagon  had  passed  upon  it,  through  the  hunting 
grounds  of  the  Sioux. 

Another  white  chief  had  been  sent  to  take  conomand 
of  Fort  Phil  Kearney.  He  was  Brigadier  General  H. 
W.  Wessels.  All  this  summer  the  soldiers  were  hav- 
ing to  fight  for  wood  and  water.  The  contractor  in 
charge  of  the  teams  hauling  lumber  complained  that 
he  must  have  more  protection  or  he  would  be  unable  to 
do  the  work. 

Captain  James  Powell  of  the  Twenty-seventh  In- 
fantry was  ordered  out  to  protect  the  lumber  camps. 
He  took  Lieutenant  John  C.  Jenness  and  fifty-one  men. 

The  wood  choppers  had  two  camps,  about  a  mile 
apart.  The  captain  detailed  twenty-five  of  his  men  to 
guard  the  one  camp,  and  escort  the  wagon  trains  to  the 
fort;  with  the  twenty-six  others  he  made  a  fort  of 
wagon  boxes,  at  the  second  camp. 

He  arranged  fourteen  of  tlie  wagon  boxes  on  the 
ground,  in  a  circle.    Some  of  the  boxes  had  been  lined 

276 


RED  CLOUD  STANDS  IN  THE  WAY 

with  boiler  iron.  Two  wagons  were  left  on  wheels,  so 
that  the  rifles  might  be  aimed  from  underneath.  The 
boxes  were  pierced  low  down  with  a  row  of  loop-holes. 
The  spaces  between  the  ends  of  the  boxes  were  filled 
with  ox-chains,  slabs  and  brush.  He  had  plenty  of 
ammunition  and  plenty  of  new  breech-loading  rifles. 

The  little  fort  was  located  in  an  open  basin,  sur- 
rounded by  gentle  hills.  He  directed  the  men  of  the 
other  camp  to  come  in  at  the  first  sign  of  trouble. 

The  Sioux  were  at  hand.  Red  Cloud  had  been 
merely  waiting  for  the  soldiers  to  march  out  and  make 
it  worth  his  while  to  descend.  He  was  resolved  to  de- 
stroy Fort  Kearney  this  year,  before  the  snows. 

It  seemed  to  him  that  again  he  had  the  soldiers  where 
he  wanted  them.  Word  of  the  flimsy  little  corral 
spread  a  laugh  among  his  two  thousand  warriors.  The 
squaws  and  old  men  were  summoned  from  the  allied 
Sioux  and  out-law  Cheyenne  village,  to  come  and  see 
and  be  ready  with  their  knives. 

On  the  morning  of  August  2  he  so  suddenly  attacked 
the  unfortified  wood  camp  that  he  cut  it  off  completely. 
Two  hundred  of  his  men  captured  the  mule  herd;  five 
hundred  of  them  attacked  the  wagon  train  there, 
burned  the  wagons  and  drove  the  soldiers  and  team- 
sters and  choppers  who  were  outside  the  corral,  in 
flight  to  Fort  Kearney.     Scalps  were  taken. 

Now  it  was  the  turn  of  the  puny  corral,  and  the  rest 
of  the  soldiers. 

He  could  see  only  the  low  circle  of  wagon-boxes. 
They  were  covered  with  blankets ;  underneath  the  blan- 
kets there  were  soldiers — few  and  frightened. 

277 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

The  hill  slopes  around  were  thronged  with  his  peo- 
ple, gathered  to  watch  and  to  plunder.  He  felt  like 
a  great  chief  indeed.  And  at  wave  of  his  hand  eight 
hundred  of  his  cavalry  dashed  in  a  thunder- 
ing, crackling  surge  of  death  straight  at  the  silent 
circle. 

On  they  sped,  and  on,  and  on,  and  were  just  about 
to  dash  against  the  circle  and  sweep  over,  when  sud- 
denly such  a  roar,  and  sheet  of  flame,  struck  them  in 
the  face  that  they  staggered  and  melted.  Now — while 
the  guns  were  empty!  But  the  guns  were  not  yet 
empty — they  belched  without  pause.  Veering  right 
and  left  around  a  bloody  lane  the  warriors,  crouching 
low,  tore  for  safety  from  the  frightful  blast. 

Red  Cloud  could  not  understand.  His  own  men  were 
well  armed,  with  rifles  and  with  muskets  captured  from 
the  soldiers  during  the  past  year  or  supplied  at  the 
trading  post.  It  seemed  to  him  that  there  were  more 
soldiers  under  those  blankets  tlian  he  had  reckoned. 
But  he  knew  that  his  men  were  brave ;  his  people  were 
watching  from  the  hills ;  he  had  no  mind  for  defeat. 

In  the  corral  Captain  Powell  had  told  his  twenty-six 
soldiers  and  four  civilians  to  fight  for  their  lives.  The 
poor  shots  were  ordered  to  load  guns  and  pass  them  as 
fast  as  possible  to  the  crack  shots. 

Eed  Cloud  rallied  his  whole  force,  of  more  than  two 
thousand.  He  dismounted  eight  hundred  and  sent 
them  forward  to  crawl  along  the  ground,  as  sharp- 
shooters; they  ringed  the  corral  with  bullets  and 
arrows. 

He  himself  led  twelve  hundred,  afoot,  for  a  charge. 

278 


RED  CLOUD  STANDS  IN  THE  WAY 

His  young  nephew  was  his  chief  aide — ^to  win  the  right 
to  be  head  chief  after  Eed  Cloud's  death. 

But  although  they  tried,  in  charge  after  charge,  for 
three  hours,  they  could  not  enter  the  little  fort.  Some- 
times they  got  within  ten  yards — ^the  soldiers  threw 
augers  at  them,  and  they  threw  the  augers  back — and 
back  they  reeled,  themselves.  The  guns  of  the  little 
fort  never  quit ! 

Eed  Cloud  still  could  not  understand.  He  called  a 
council.  In  the  opinion  of  his  chiefs  and  braves,  the 
white  soldiers  were  armed  with  guns  that  shot  of  them- 
selves and  did  not  need  reloading. 

The  squaws  on  the  hills  were  wailing ;  his  men  were 
discouraged ;  many  had  fallen.  So  finally  he  ordered 
that  the  bodies  be  saved,  and  the  fight  ended.  His 
braves  again  crawled  forward,  behind  shields,  with 
ropes ;  tied  the  ropes  to  the  bodies,  in  spite  of  the  bul- 
lets, and  running,  snaked  the  bodies  away  behind  them. 

*'Some  bad  god  fought  against  us,"  complained  the 
Eed  Cloud  people.  **The  white  soldiers  had  a  great 
medicine.    We  were  burned  by  fire.'' 

And  all  the  Indians  of  the  plains,  hearing  about  the 
mystery,  when  the  breech-loading  rifles  mowed  down 
the  Sioux  and  the  Cheyennes,  spoke  of  the  bad  god  fight 
that  defeated  Chief  Eed  Cloud. 

The  Sioux  reported  that  they  had  lost  eleven  hundred 
and  thirty-five  warriors.  Eed  Cloud's  nephew  was 
sorely  wounded  in  the  charge.  Captain  Fetterman's 
loss  was  Lieutenant  Jenness  and  two  men  killed,  two 
men  wounded.  He  said  that  when  the  reinforcements, 
with  the  cannon,  arrived  from  Fort  Kearney,  while  the 

279 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

Sioux  were  removing  their  dead,  he  was  in  despair. 
Another  charge  or  two  and  he  would  have  been  wiped 
out. 

But  the  road  remained  closed.  Red  Cloud  remained 
in  the  path.  This  fall  the  Government  decided  that, 
after  all,  it  had  no  right  to  open  the  road.  In  April  of 
the  next  year,  1868,  another  treaty  was  signed  with  the 
Sioux  and  the  Cheyennes,  by  which  the  United  States 
gave  up  any  claim  to  the  Powder  River  and  Big  Horn 
country,  and  the  Indians  promised  to  let  the  Union 
Pacific  Railroad  alone. 

Red  Cloud  did  not  sign.  *  *  The  white  men  are  liars,' ' 
he  insisted ;  and  he  waited  until  the  three  forts,  Smith 
and  Kearney  and  Reno,  were  abandoned.  Then,  in 
November^  after  his  warriors  had  burned  them,  and 
all  the  soldiers  were  gone  out  of  the  country,  he  put 
his  name  to  the  treaty. 

Thus  he  won  out.  He  had  said  that  he  would  close 
the  road,  and  he  had  done  it. 

Through  the  following  years  he  remained  quiet.  He 
had  had  his  fill  of  fighting.  His  name  was  great.  He 
was  head  chief  of  the  Red  Cloud  agency,  later  called 
Pine  Ridge.  Spotted  Tail  of  the  Brules  controlled  the 
other  agency,  later  called  Rosebud. 

Red  Cloud  always  closely  watched  the  whites.  He 
was  at  peace,  but  suspicious.  When  the  Black  Hills 
were  finally  demanded  by  the  United  States,  he  sent 
out  men  to  count  the  buffalo.  The  number  in  sight  was 
too  small.  Some  day,  soon,  the  Indians  would  have 
no  meat  on  their  hunting  grounds.  Therefore  Red 
Cloud  decided  that  the  red  men  must  begin  to  live  by 

280 


RED  CLOUD  STANDS  IN  THE  WAY 

aid  of  the  white  man;  and  he  favored  the  reservations 
— even  the  sale  of  the  Black  Hills  so  that  his  people 
would  be  made  rich  enough  to  settle  down. 

He  was  looked  up  to  as  a  warrior  and  a  councillor, 
but  the  United  States  did  not  trust  him ;  and  after  a 
time,  put  Spotted  Tail  over  him,  in  charge  of  the  two 
agencies.  This  made  bad  feeling,  and  Eed  Cloud  and 
Spotted  Tail  did  not  speak  to  each  other.  However, 
his  own  people,  who  rose  under  Sitting  Bull,  urged  him 
to  join  with  them,  in  vain. 

Eed  Cloud  lived  to  be  a  very  old  man.  He  became 
almost  blind,  and  partly  paralyzed.  He  stuck  to  his 
one  wife.    They  were  together  for  many  years. 

He  died  in  December,  1909,  in  a  two-story  house  built 
for  him  by  the  Government  on  the  Pine  Eidge  agency 
in  South  Dakota.  He  was  aged  eighty-seven.  Five 
years  before  he  had  given  his  chief-ship  over  to  his 
son,  young  Eed  Cloud,  who  carried  the  name.  It  is  a 
name  that  will  never  be  forgotten. 


281 


CHAPTER  XXin 

STANDING  BEAR  SEEKS  A  HOME  (1877-1880) 
THE  INDIAN   WHO  WON  THB  WHITE  MAN 'S  VERDICT 

THE  Ponca  Indians  were  members  of  the  large 
Siouan  family.  They  had  not  always  been  a 
separate  tribe.  In  the  old  days  they  and  the  Omahas 
and  the  Kansas  and  the  Osages  had  lived  together  as 
Omahas,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Osage  River  in  east- 
ern Nebraska. 

Soon  they  divided,  and  held  their  clan  names  of 
Poncas,  Omahas,  Kansas  and  Osages. 

The  Poncas  and  Omahas  clung  as  allies.  Finally 
the  Poncas  remained  by  themselves,  low  down  on  the 
Niobrara  River  in  northern  Nebraska. 

When  the  captains,  Lewis  and  Clark,  met  some  of 
them,  the  tribe  had  been  cut  by  the  small-pox  to  only 
some  two  hundred  people.  They  never  have  been  a 
big  people.  Their  number  today,  about  eight  hundred 
and  fifty,  is  as  large  as  ever  in  their  history. 

They  and  the  Omahas  warred  with  the  Sioux,  but 
they  never  warred  with  the  white  men.  They  have 
always  been  friendly  to  the  white  men,  except  once; 
and  that  once  brings  up  the  story  of  Standing  Bear. 

Back  in  1817  the  Poncas  made  a  treaty  of  friendship 
with  the  United  States ;  and  in  1825  they  made  another 
treaty,  allowing  white  traders  to  live  among  them,  and 

282 


Standing  Bear 
Courtesy  of  The  American  Bureau  of  Ethnology 


STANDING  BEAR  SEEKS  A  HOME 

agreeing  to  let  their  own  bad  men  (if  any)  be  pun- 
ished by  the  United  States;  and  in  1859  they  made 
another  treaty,  selling  their  hunting  grounds  to  the 
United  States,  and  keeping  a  tract  on  the  Niobrara 
Kiver  for  their  own  homes. 

None  of  these  treaties  did  they  break.  They  were 
at  peace  with  even  the  Sioux.  They  had  good  farms, 
and  were  prospering. 

But  in  1868  the  United  States  laid  out  a  new  reser- 
vation for  the  Sioux.  By  a  mistake  this  took  in  the 
Ponca  reservation  in  Nebraska,  and  the  Poncas  were 
not  told.  The  way  they  found  out,  was  this:  The 
Sioux  began  to  come  in  and  claim  the  land. 

**That  is  not  right,"  said  the  Poncas.  **You  do  not 
belong  here.  All  this  country  is  ours.  Go  back.  We 
do  not  want  you." 

So  there  was  fighting,  every  little  while,  and  the 
Poncas  lost  many  warriors.  This  continued  for  nine 
years,  until,  by  the  raids  of  the  Sioux,  one  fourth  of 
the  Poncas  had  been  killed  or  captured. 

Still  they  had  not  been  told  by  the  United  States 
that  these  lands  were  theirs  no  longer;  but,  suddenly, 
in  1877,  they  were  told  that  they  must  get  out. 

At  this  time  they  had  three  villages,  on  the  lower 
Niobrara  River,  and  eight  bands,  each  under  a  chief. 
The  chiefs  were  Standing  Bear,  White  Eagle,  Big  Sol- 
dier, Traveling  Buffalo,  Black  Crow,  Over-the-land, 
Woodpecker,  and  Big-Hoofed  Buffalo. 

The  United  States  informed  the  eight  chiefs  that  they 
must  remove  their  people  to  the  Indian  Territory,  but 
did  not  say  why. 

283 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

Standing  Bear  had  been  born  in  1829,  so  lie  was 
forty-eight  years  old.  He  stood  high  among  the  Pon- 
cas,  because  of  his  clan,  the  Wa-zha-zhe — a,  clan  that 
could  cure  rattle-snake  bites  and  work  other  won- 
ders. 

He  strongly  opposed  giving  up  the  Ponca  home-land, 
upon  which  the  tribe  had  lived  for  almost  one  hundred 
years,  and  which  the  United  States  had  agreed,  on 
paper,  to  give  them  in  exchange  for  their  hunting 
grounds.  The  other  chiefs  thought  the  same.  They 
could  not  understand  why  they  all  should  be  thrown 
off,  when  they  had  done  nothing  wrong. 

But  the  white  men  paid  no  attention.  One  of  them, 
who  was  the  United  States  Indian  Inspector,  only  an- 
swered : 

**The  President  says  that  you  must  sell  this  land. 
He  will  buy  it  and  pay  you  money,  and  give  you  new 
land  in  the  Indian  Territory." 

**We  do  not  know  your  authority,"  argued  Standing 
Bear.  **You  have  no  right  to  move  us  until  we  have 
held  a  council  with  the  President." 

*'If  you  like  the  new  land,  then  you  can  see  the 
President  and  tell  him  so,"  offered  the  inspector.  ''If 
you  don't  like  it,  then  you  can  see  him  and  tell  him  so." 

So  Standing  Bear  and  nine  other  chiefs  went;  but 
they  were  dubious. 

The  inspector  showed  the  three  pieces  of  land,  and 
told  them  to  choose.  All  the  pieces  were  bad  pieces. 
It  was  a  hot  country  and  a  bare  country,  and  not  suited 
to  the  Poncas,  who  had  good  corn-fields  and  houses  in 
their  own  country  of  the  Niobrara. 

284 


STANDING  BEAR  SEEK&  A  HOME 

Besides,  now  the  white  man  said  that  they  were  to 
have  no  pay  for  their  Niobrara  land.  He  told  the 
chiefs,  according  to  Standing  Bear: 

**If  you  do  not  accept  what  land  is  offered  you  here, 
I  will  leave  you  here  alone.  You  are  one  thousand 
miles  from  home.  You  have  no  money.  You  cannot 
speak  the  language.'' 

Then  he  slammed  the  door. 

**But  we  do  not  like  this  land,"  explained  Standing 
Bear.  **  We  could  not  make  a  living.  The  water  is 
bad.    Now  send  us  to  the  President,  as  you  promised. ' ' 

The  man  would  not  send  them.  He  would  not  take 
them  home.  He  would  not  give  them  any  of  the  Indian 
money,  for  buying  food.  He  would  not  give  them  a 
paper,  to  show  to  the  people  along  the  way.  He  would 
not  give  them  the  interpreter,  to  talk  for  them.  He 
would  not  take  them  to  a  railroad. 

*'He  left  us  right  here,"  said  Standing  Bear.  **It 
was  winter.  We  started  for  home  on  foot.  At  night 
we  slept  in  hay-stacks.  We  barely  lived  till  morning, 
it  was  so  cold.  We  had  nothing  but  our  blankets.  We 
took  the  ears  of  corn  that  had  dried  in  the  fields ;  we  ate 
it  raw.  The  soles  of  our  moccasins  wore  out.  We 
were  barefoot  in  the  snow.  We  were  nearly  dead  when 
we  reached  the  Oto  reservation.  It  had  been  fifty 
days." 

Their  feet  made  bloody  marks  on  the  Oto  reservation. 
The  Otos  and  the  Oto  agent  treated  them  kindly.  They 
stayed  ten  days,  to  rest ;  then  the  Otos  gave  them  each 
a  pony,  and  in  two  more  weeks  they  were  home. 

It  had  been  a  cold,  hungry  journey,  of  five  hundred 

285 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     iWARRIORS 

miles,  and  their  relatives  and  friends  were  glad  to  see 
them  again. 

But  the  United  States  inspector  was  waiting  for 
them.  He  was  angry.  He  said  that  the  Great  Father 
had  ordered  the  Poncas  to  change  homes.  It  did  not 
seem  to  matter  whether  or  not  they  liked  the  new  home. 
And  he  called  for  soldiers,  and  all  the  Poncas  were 
bundled  out  of  their  villages  and  taken  to  the  hot  coun- 
try of  the  south.  On  the  way  women  and  children  died. 
Standing  Beards  daughter  died. 

Just  as  Standing  Bear  and  the  other  chiefs  had  tried 
to  explain,  the  new  country  was  not  a  good  country  for 
the  Poncas.  It  was  humid  and  hot;  their  Niobrara 
country  had  been  dry  and  bracing.  Within  one  year 
a  third  of  them  were  dead  from  sickness ;  the  rest  were 
weak  and  miserable.  They  pined  for  the  villages  that 
they  had  built  and  loved,  and  that  they  had  lost  without 
any  known  reason. 

After  a  year  and  a  half  Standing  Bear's  boy  died, 
as  so  many  others  had  died ;  and  the  heart  of  Standing 
Bear  was  heavy.  He  did  not  sleep,  by  thinking  that  his 
son's  bones  must  lie  here  in  this  unfriendly  country. 
His  medicine  demanded  that  the  boy  should  rest  with 
their  ancestors,  in  the  Ponca  ground  along  the  dear 
Niobrara. 

Therefore,  in  January,  1879,  he  placed  the  bones  in 
a  sack,  and  tied  the  sack  to  his  neck,  and  taking  his 
people  who  could  travel,  he  set  out  to  walk  to  Ponca 
land. 

That  was  hard  work.  They  made  their  way  as  best 
they  could,  but  had  been  over  three  months  on  it  when, 

286 


STANDING  BEAR  SEEKS  A  HOME 

in  May,  they  arrived  at  the  reservation  of  their  friends 
the  Omahas,  near  the  Missouri  Edver  in  northeastern 
Nebraska. 

Chief  Standing  Bear  asked  the  Omahas  if  they  might 
rest,  and  plant  a  few  acres  of  ground,  so  as  to  get  food. 
The  Omahas  gave  them  seed  and  ground.  Standing 
Bear  still  had  the  bones  of  his  son,  in  the  bag.  When 
he  had  started  a  crop,  he  was  going  on  with  the  bones, 
and  bury  them  at  the  Niobrara,  where  the  Poncas  of 
happier  years  had  been  buried. 

Before  the  crop  was  in,  soldiers  appeared,  and 
arrested  him  and  all  his  party,  to  take  them  back  to 
the  hot  country. 

This  much  alarmed  the  Omahas.  They  had  heard 
how  the  Poncas  had  been  moved  off  without  warning 
and  without  reason.  Standing  Bear  was  not  being 
allowed  to  stay ;  he  had  lost  his  country  forever.  The 
same  thing  might  happen  to  the  Omahas. 

They  had  a  similar  treaty  with  the  United  States. 
They  thought  that  they  owned  their  lands.  They  had 
been  improving  them  and  living  on  them  for  years. 
They  had  spent  much  money  of  the  tribe,  for  tools  and 
buildings,  and  were  becoming  like  white  men.  The 
Government  had  issued  papers  to  them,  showing  which 
land  each  man  possessed. 

Now  they  were  liable  to  lose  their  lands,  as  the 
Poncas  had  lost. 

The  Omahas  hastened  to  ask  white  lawyers  about  it. 
They  were  told  that  the  papers  did  not  show  that  they 
owned  the  land;  the  papers  only  showed  which  lands 
each  man  had  a  right  to  farm. 

287 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

The  Omahas  were  Indians,  and  not  white  citizens, 
and  could  not  own  lands,  man  by  man.  When  a  man 
died,  his  land  might  be  given  to  somebody  else. 

Now  dread  fastened  upon  the  Omaha  tribe.  They 
hastened  to  draw  up  a  petition  to  Congress,  asking  that 
the  lands  which  their  men  owned  or  thought  they  owned 
be  put  down  on  paper  forever.  They  wanted  titles 
such  as  the  white  men  had,  so  the  lands  could  be  re- 
corded. 

Miss  Alice  Fletcher,  from  Washington,  had  been  sent 
to  study  the  Omaha  people ;  and  they  appealed  to  her. 
She  helped  them.  The  petition  went  to  Washington, 
but  the  months  passed  without  an  answer. 

Meanwhile  Standing  Bear  and  his  bag  of  bones  and 
his  party  were  being  taken  south,  by  the  soldiers  from 
Fort  Crook,  Omaha,  to  the  sickly  hot  country.  When 
they  camped  on  their  way,  near  Omaha,  a  newspaper 
man  talked  with  them.  His  name  was  Mr.  T.  H.  Tib- 
bies. 

The  story  was  printed  in  the  Omaha  papers,  and  at 
once  Standing  Bear  had  many  white  allies. 

The  Omaha  City  people  invited  him  to  come  in  and 
talk  to  them;  and  so  he  did,  in  a  church  that  was 
crowded  with  listeners.  Two  lawyers,  Mr.  Poppleton 
and  Mr.  Webster,  adopted  him  as  a  client ;  and  before 
the  soldiers  had  started  on  with  him,  the  lawyers  asked 
the  court  for  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus — a  challenge  to 
the  United  States  to  surrender  him,  as  a  person  who 
had  been  unlawfully  arrested. 

The  United  States  arguedthat  Standing  Bear  was  an 
Indian,  and  that  an  Indian  was  not  a  *' person,  *'  under 

288 


STANDING  BEAR  SEEKS  A  HOME 

the  laws  of  the  United  States;  he  did  not  have  any 
rights,  in  court. 

Standing  Bear  had  left  his  tribe,  and  was  nobody, 
until  he  returned;  and  even  then,  he  w^ould  be  only  an 
Indian. 

Standing  Bear's  lawyers  brought  witnesses  into 
court,  to  state  that  the  Standing  Bear  party  had  trav- 
eled peacefully,  like  good  citizens ;  had  not  even  begged 
along  the  way. 

Standing  Bear  was  told  to  arise  and  repeat  his  story. 
Part  of  it  is  contained  in  this  chapter.  It  was  a  re- 
markable speech.  The  people  in  the  court-room  be- 
lieved it.  Standing  Bear's  heart  warmed.  He  was  no 
Indian ;  he  was  a  man. 

The  judge  decided.  He  said  that  an  Indian  was  a 
person,  and  had  a  right  to  the  courts,  and  to  liberty 
when  he  had  not  done  wrong.  The  Poncas  had  been 
unjustly  removed  by  force  from  their  lands,  and  Stand- 
ing Bear's  party  had  been  unjustly  arrested.  There- 
fore they  should  be  released. 

When  this  word  was  carried  to  Standing  Bear  by  his 
lawyers,  he  was  so  pleased  that  he  almost  wept. 

** Before  this,"  he  said,  **w^hcu  w^e  have  been  wronged 
we  went  to  war  to  get  back  our  rights  and  avenge  our 
wrongs.  We  took  the  tomahawk.  We  had  no  law  to 
punish  those  who  did  us  wrong,  and  we  went  out  to  kill. 
If  they  had  guns  and  could  kill  us  first,  it  was  the  fate 
of  war.  But  you  have  found  us  a  better  way.  You 
have  gone  into  court  for  us,  and  I  find  that  our  wrongs 
can  be  righted  there.  Now  I  have  no  more  use  for  the 
tomahawk.    I  want  to  lay  it  down  forever. "    So  he  put 

289 


BOYS>     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

it  on  the  floor.  **I  lay  it  down.  I  have  found  a  better 
way.    I  can  now  seek  the  ways  of  peace." 

He  gave  the  tomahawk  to  Attorney  Webster,  ^Ho 
keep  in  remembrance  of  the  great  victory." 

And  a  great  victory  it  was,  not  only  for  the  Poncas, 
but  for  all  the  Indians.  Standing  Bear's  trip  with  the 
bones  had  gained  him  many  new  friends. 

Now  he  traveled  straight  to  the  Niobrara,  and  no- 
body dared  to  stop  him. 

The  next  winter  he  made  a  tour  of  the  East,  with 
interpreters,  and  with  Mr.  Tibbies  the  newspaper  ally. 
He  spoke  from  many  platforms,  telling  of  the  wrongs 
of  the  Indians.  The  newspapers  everywhere  spread 
his  talk  wider.  Soon  letters  from  white  people  and 
their  societies  began  to  pour  into  Washington,  for  the 
President  and  for  the  Congressmen. 

As  a  result,  in  the  spring  of  1880  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States  sent  a  commission  into  the  West,  to  find 
out  if  Standing  Bear's  stories  were  really  true. 

They  were  true.  Therefore  the  Poncas  were  told 
that  they  might  go  back  to  the  Niobrara,  if  they  wished. 
Some  did  so.  They  were  called  the  Cold  Country 
Band.  Those  who  were  willing  to  stay  in  the  Indian 
Territory  were  granted  better  lands,  and  they  were 
paid  for  the  lands  that  they  had  lost  in  the  north. 
They  were  called  the  Hot  Country  Band. 

Each  band  was  given  titles  to  the  lands  held  by 
it.  The  Omahas,  too,  won  out,  and  were  given  ti- 
tles. They  and  the  Poncas  secured  the  rights  of  citi- 
zens of  the  United  States. 

As  for  Standing  Bear,  he  died,  well  satisfied  and 

290 


STANDING  BEAR  SEEKS  A  HOME 

much  honored,  in  1908,  aged  seventy-nine,  and  was 
buried  there  near  the  Niobrara,  in  ancient  Ponca  coun- 
try, where  his  ancestors  slept.    He  had  saved  his  tribe. 


291 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

SITTING  BULL  THE  WAR  MAKER  (1876-1881) 
AN    UNCONQUERED  LEADER 

THE  treaty  that  Chief  Red  Cloud  at  last  signed  in 
the  fall  of  1868  was  half  white  and  half  red.  The 
white  part  made  the  Sioux  agree  to  a  reservation  which 
covered  all  of  present  South  Dakota  west  of  the  Mis- 
souri River.  Here  they  were  to  live  and  be  fed.  The 
red  part,  put  in  by  Red  Cloud,  said  that  the  whole 
country  west  of  the  reservation  to  the  Big  Horn  Moun- 
tains of  northern  Wyoming,  and  north  of  the  North 
Platte  River,  should  be  Indian  country.  Here  the 
Sioux  and  their  Indian  friends  were  to  hunt  as  they 
pleased. 

This  closed  the  road,  and  gave  the  Powder  River 
region  to  the  Sioux.  They  might  chase  the  buffalo, 
from  central  Wyoming  up  across  Montana  clear  to 
Canada,  and  no  white  man  could  interfere.  It  was 
their  own  game  reserve — and  the  best  game  reserve  in 
the  United  States. 

The  Sioux  numbered  thirty  thousand.  Many  of 
them  preferred  living  in  their  hunting  grounds  instead 
of  upon  the  reservation.  That  was  their  natural  life — 
to  hunt  and  to  war.  Besides,  they  found  out  that  the 
United  States  was  not  doing  as  had  been  promised. 
There  were  to  be  cows,  seeds,  farm  tools,  teachers,  and 

292 


SITTING  BULL  THE  WAR  MAKER 

so  forth,  for  the  reservation  Indians — and  scarcely  a 
third  of  these  things  was  supplied. 

The  Indians  upon  the  reservation  did  not  live  nearly 
so  comfortably  as  those  who  did  as  they  pleased,  in  the 
hunting  grounds. 

So  the  treaty  did  not  work  out  well.  The  hunting- 
ground  Indians  were  perfectly  free.  They  had  guests 
from  other  tribes ;  and  in  the  passing  back  and  forth, 
white  men  were  attacked.  The  Crows  of  western  Mon- 
tana complained  that  the  Sioux  invaded  them,  and  that 
they  might  as  well  go  to  war,  themselves,  as  try  to 
stay  at  home. 

The  Government  had  intended  that  the  Sioux  should 
settle  upon  the  big  reservation,  and  from  there  take 
their  hunting  trips.  Speedily,  or  in  1869,  General 
Sherman,  head  of  the  army,  declared  that  the  Indians 
found  outside  of  the  reservation  might  be  treated  as 
hostiles,  and  brought  back. 

Nevertheless,  by  the  terms  of  the  Ked  Cloud  treaty, 
the  Sioux  had  a  right  to  be  in  this  country,  which  was 
all  theirs,  if  they  behaved  themselves. 

Among  the  leaders  of  the  hunting-ground  Sioux,  Sit- 
ting Bull  ranked  with  the  foremost.  He  was  a  Hunk- 
papa  Sioux,  of  the  Teton  division — in  which  Spotted 
Tail  was  leader  of  the  Brules  and  Ked  Cloud  of  the 
Oglalas. 

But  Sitting  Bull  was  no  chief.  By  his  own  count  he 
laid  claim  to  being  a  great  warrior;  by  the  Sioux  count 
he  had  powerful  medicine — he  could  tell  of  events  to 
come.  And  this  was  his  strong  hold  upon  the  Sioux. 
They  feared  him. 

293 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

He  had  been  bom  in  1834,  in  present  South  Dakota. 
The  name  given  him  as  a  boy  was  Jumping  Badger. 
His  father's  name  was  Four  Horns,  and  also  Ta-tan-ka 
Yo-tan-ka  or  Sitting  Buffalo-bull.  When  Jumping 
Badger  was  only  fourteen  years  old  he  went  with  his 
father  on  the  war  trail  against  the  Crows.  A  Crow 
was  killed,  and  little  Jumping  Badger  touched  the  body 
first,  and  counted  a  coup,  or  stroke. 

To  be  the  first  to  count  coup  on  a  fallen  enemy  was 
high  honor.  Frequently  a  wounded  warrior  only  pre- 
tended to  be  dead,  and  when  his  foe  approached  him 
close,  he  shot. 

Upon  their  return  home,  old  Sitting  Bull  gave  a 
feast,  and  distributed  many  horses,  and  transferred  his 
own  name  to  Jumping  Badger. 

After  this,  although  young  Sitting  Bull  counted  many 
coups,  he  practiced  making  medicine  until  he  gained 
much  reputation  as  a  future-teller.  He  openly  hated 
the  whites.  His  hate  was  as  deep  as  that  of  0-pe-chan- 
can-ough,  the  Pamunkey. 

He  grew  to  be  a  burly,  stout  man,  with  light  brown 
hair  and  complexion,  a  grim  heavy  face  pitted  by 
small-pox,  and  two  shrewd,  blood-shot  eyes.  He 
limped,  from  a  wound. 

His  band  was  small;  but  his  camp  was  the  favorite 
gathering  place  for  the  reservation  Indians,  on  hunt- 
ing trips.  They  took  presents  to  him,  that  he  might 
bring  the  buffalo. 

Thus  matters  went  on,  broken  with  complaints.  It 
was  hard  to  tell  which  were  reservation  Indians  and 
which  were  wild  Indians.    When  the  Sitting  Bull  peo- 

294 


Sitting  Bull 
Courtesy  of  The  American  Bureau  of  I^^thnology 


/ 


SITTING  BULL  THE  WAR  MAKER 

pie  and  other  bands  came  in  to  the  reservation,  and 
drew  rations  of  flour,  they  emptied  the  flour  on  the 
prairie  and  used  the  sacks  as  clothing.  This  helped 
to  make  the  reservation  Indians  ill  content.  The  wild 
Indians  evidently  were  living  very  well  indeed. 

Along  in  1871  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  wished 
to  build  westward.  The  route  would  take  them  through 
the  country  given  to  the  Sioux,  and  the  Sioux  said  no. 
Their  treaty  protected  them  against  the  white  man's 
roads.  They  attacked  a  surveying  party  escorted  by 
soldiers,  and  killed  two.    This  was  in  1872. 

It  was  a  brutal  killing.  Rain-in-the-face  was  ar- 
rested for  this,  on  the  reservation ;  but.  he  escaped  and 
vowed  vengeance.  He  went  to  Sitting  Bull,  and  was 
safe. 

In  1874  the  United  States  began  to  ask  for  the  Pah- 
sap-pa,  or  Black  Hills,  in  South  Dakota.  To  the  Sioux 
and  the  Cheyennes,  Pah-sap-pa  was  medicine  ground. 
Spirits  dwelt  there;  it  was  the  home  of  the  Thunder 
Bird  and  other  magic  creatures;  it  contained  much 
game,  and  quantities  of  tent  poles,  for  lodges. 

Spotted  Tail  of  the  Brules  went  in.  He  hung  around 
the  white  men's  mining  camps,  and  found  out  that  the 
white  men  were  crazy  for  the  gold. 

The  United  States  had  been  accustomed  to  buying 
Indian  land  cheap,  and  getting  rich  out  of  it.  Now  it 
offered  to  buy  the  Black  Hills  for  six  millions  of  dol- 
lars, or  to  rent  them  for  four  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars a  year. 

Coached  by  Spotted  Tail  and  by  Red  Cloud,  the 
Sioux  laughed,  and  asked  sixty  millions  of  dollars. 

295 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

So  the  deal  did  not  go  through,  this  time.  However, 
the  Sioux  lost  Pah-sap-pa,  just  the  same. 

The  United  States  Government  was  unable  to  keep 
the  gold-seekers  out.  They  dodged  through  the  troops. 
There  were  fights  with  the  Sioux,  and  the  Sioux  became 
angered  in  earnest. 

They  saw  their  Black  Hills  invaded  by  a  thousand 
white  men.  Other  white  men,  guarded  by  soldiers, 
were  planning  to  run  a  railroad  right  through  the  Pow- 
der Kiver  country.  On  the  Great  Sioux  reservation 
Spotted  Tail  and  Bed  Cloud  were  the  head  chiefs;  but 
out  on  the  hunting  grounds  the  Sitting  Bull  people 
stayed  and  prepared  to  make  war  and  hold  the  Sioux 
lands. 

The  Sioux  on  the  reservations  began  to  leave,  and 
join  Sitting  Bull.  They  felt  that  Red  Cloud's  heart 
was  with  them.  He  had  notified  the  United  States 
that  it  must  keep  the  white  men  out  of  Sioux  coun- 
try. 

The  United  States  also  was  alarmed.  The  Sioux 
seemed  to  be  using  the  reservation  as  a  sort  of  supply 
depot ;  they  got  provisions  and  clothing  there,  and  took 
them  to  the  hunting  grounds. 

General  Alfred  H.  Terry,  who  commanded  the  Mili- 
tary Department  of  Dakota,  sent  scouts  to  inform  Sit- 
ting Bull  that  unless  he  came  in,  with  all  his  people,  out 
of  the  Big  Horn  Valley  and  the  Powder  River  country, 
before  a  certain  time,  troops  would  bring  him  out. 
There  would  be  war. 

Sitting  Bull  answered : 

**When  you  come  for  me  you  need  bring  no  guides. 

296 


SITTING  BULL  THE  WAR  MAKER 

You  will  easily  find  me.  I  shall  be  right  here.  I  shall 
not  run  away." 

In  February,  this  1876,  the  United  States  started  to 
go  after  him,  but  the  cold  weather  delayed  the  plans. 
Then,  in  May,  matters  were  all  arranged.  There  were 
to  be  three  colunms,  to  surround  the  unruly  Sitting 
Bull. 

General  George  Crook,  the  famous  Indian  fighter, 
was  to  march  into  the  Big  Horn  country  from  the  south 
with  thirteen  hundred  men ;  Colonel  John  Gibbon  was 
to  march  in  from  the  west  with  four  hundred  men; 
General  Terry 's  infantry,  and  General  George  A.  Cus- 
ter's  Seventh  Cavalry,  one  thousand  men,  were  to 
march  in  from  the  east. 

They  were  to  meet  at  the  Powder  Kiver,  and  cap- 
ture Sitting  Bull. 

A  great  many  Indians  had  rallied  to  Sitting  Bull  and 
his  comrade  chief  Crazy  Horse — an  Oglala  who  com- 
manded the  Cheyennes.  Sitting  Bull  was  making  med- 
icine. He  told  the  warriors  that  in  a  short  time  there 
would  be  a  big  fight  with  the  soldiers  on  the  Big  Horn, 
and  that  the  soldiers  would  be  defeated. 

Crazy  Horse  struck  the  enemy  first.  He  met  Gen- 
eral Crook's  column  and  stopped  it.  Then  he  joined 
Sitting  Bull  again. 

Now  in  June  the  Sitting  Bull  camp  upon  the  Little 
Big  Horn  River  in  the  Big  Horn  Valley  of  southern 
Montana  was  three  miles  long  and  contained  ten  thou- 
sand people.  It  had  twenty-five  hundred  good  fight- 
ers. It  was  not  afraid,  but  its  people  were  here  to 
hunt  and  dance  and  have  a  good  time.    Although  they 

297 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

listened  to  the  prophecy  of  Sitting  Bull,  they  really 
did  not  expect  that  the  soldiers  would  find  them. 

Chief  Gall,  a  fine  man,  of  the  Hunkpapas,  was  head 
war  chief;  his  aide  was  Crow  King.  Crazy  Horse  com- 
manded the  Northern  Cheyennes.  The  head  of  the 
Miniconjou  Sioux  was  Lame  Deer.  Big  Road  com- 
manded the  Oglalas.  There  were  other  Sioux  also — 
some  Brules,  and  some  Without  Bows ;  and  a  few  Black- 
feet  and  Arapahos. 

General  Custer,  whose  regular  rank  was  lieutenant- 
colonel,  found  the  village  with  his  Seventh  Cavalry. 
He  had  left  General  Terry,  in  order  to  scout  across 
country ;  and  when  his  scouts  told  him  that  the  Sioux 
camp  was  before  him,  he  rode  on  to  the  attack. 

About  noon  of  June  25th  he  divided  his  troops  into 
three  columns,  to  attack  from  different  directions. 
The  largest  column,  of  five  companies,  he  led,  himself. 

Not  until  that  morning  did  the  Sitting  Bull  people 
know  that  the  soldiers  were  near.  There  was  much 
excitement.  The  ponies  were  saddled,  and  the  women 
began  to  pack  their  household  stuff;  but  the  warriors 
did  not  intend  to  run  away. 

Sitting  Bull  was  certain  that  the  white  men  would 
be  defeated.  The  night  before,  his  medicine  had  been 
very  strong.  An  eagle  had  promised  a  great  victory. 
Now  he  said  that  during  the  fight  he  would  stay  in  the 
village  and  make  more  medicine.  So  Chief  Gall  it  was 
who  commanded. 

But  Sitting  Bull  did  not  stay  in  the  village.  When 
the  bullets  of  the  soldiers  pelted  into  the  lodges  he 
lost  faith  in  his  own  prophecy.    Taking  his  two  wives 

298 


SITTING  BULL  THE  WAR  MAKER 

and  whatever  else  he  might  gather,  he  bolted  for  a 
safer  place.  He  missed  one  of  Ms  twin  boys,  but  he 
did  not  stop  to  look  for  him. 

He  was  ten  miles  out,  when  he  received  news  of  the 
victory.  And  a  terrible  victory  that  had  been:  of  the 
five  companies  of  General  Custer,  the  Long  Hair,  only 
one  man  had  escaped — although  the  Sioux  did  not  know 
of  that  escape.  He  was  Curly,  a  Crow  scout.  At  any 
rate,  the  Long  Hair's  warriors,  to  the  number  of  two 
hundred  and  twelve,  had  been  killed  in  an  hour. 

The  other  soldiers  were  penned  up,  and  could  be 
killed,  too. 

So  Sitting  Bull  rode  back  again,  with  his  family. 
He  said  that  he  had  not  intended  to  run  away.  He 
had  been  out  in  the  hills,  making  his  medicine;  and 
the  bodies  of  the  soldiers  would  prove  it. 

That  certainly  seemed  true.  The  Indians  had  lost 
only  twenty,  and  had  killed  more  than  two  hundred. 

Sitting  Bull  was  greater  than  ever.  Never  before 
had  such  a  victory  been  won  at  such  little  cost.  This 
night  the  village  danced  and  sang,  and  Sitting  Bull  kept 
by  himself,  and  accepted  the  presents  given  to  him. 

Chief  Gall  had  thought  to  starve  out  the  soldiers 
who  were  penned  up,  and  were  being  watched  by  war- 
riors. These  were  the  two  other  columns,  of  the  Sev- 
enth Cavalry.  But  the  next  day.  General  Terry  and 
Colonel  Gibbon  approached,  in  order  (they  had 
planned)  to  meet  the  Custer  detachment.  When  Chief 
Gall  heard  that  the  ** walking  soldiers"  were  nearing, 
he  decided  that  there  had  been  fighting  enough. 

So  he  ordered  the  village  to  be  broken,  and  the  war- 

299 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

riors  to  come  in;  they  all  left  before  dark,  depending 
upon  the  medicine  of  Sitting  Bull  to  lead  them  to  new 
hunting  grounds. 

Soon  Crazy  Horse  took  his  band  and  branched  off 
for  himself.  He  was  a  nephew  of  Chief  Spotted  Tail, 
but  fierce  against  the  whites.  The  rest  followed  Chief 
Sitting  Bull  and  Chief  Gall. 

For  a  while  they  saw  no  more  soldiers.  Now  and 
then  other  Indians  from  the  reservation  joined  them, 
bringing  supplies;  and  now  and  then  parties  left,  to 
scout  by  themselves.  Sitting  Bull  and  Gall  and  all 
knew  this  country  very  well;  it  was  Sioux  country. 
They  knew  it  far  better  than  the  soldiers  did.  There 
were  many  hiding  places. 

When  the  weather  began  to  grow  cold,  in  the  fall, 
the  Sitting  Bull  people  commenced  to  think  of  winter. 
They  received  word  that  the  soldiers  were  stopping 
everybody  from  leaving  the  reservation.  This  cut 
down  the  supplies. 

The  Gray  Fox,  who  was  General  Crook,  struck  sev- 
eral bands  in  the  midst  of  the  hunting  grounds.  He 
had  wiped  out  American  Horse  and  had  pressed  Crazy 
Horse  very  hard.    More  soldiers  were  pouring  in. 

The  Sitting  Bull  band  numbered  three  thousand. 
They  used  lots  of  meat.  The  buffalo  were  being  fright- 
ened by  so  much  travel  of  soldiers,  and  for  the  band  to 
stay  long  in  one  spot  was  dangerous.  Some  of  the 
women  and  men  got  faint-hearted,  and  deserted.  They 
carried  word  to  the  soldiers,  and  asked  to  be  sent  to  the 
reservation.  Sitting  Bull's  medicine  did  not  prevent 
them  from  running  away. 

300 


SITTING  BULL  THE  WAR  MAKER 

He  and  Gall  planned  to  march  farther  northward, 
across  the  Yellowstone  Eiver,  to  a  better  buffalo  coun- 
try, and  make  camp  for  a  big  hunt.  A  store  of  meat 
ought  to  be  laid  in,  before  winter. 

A  new  fort  was  being  located  on  the  Yellowstone  iat 
the  mouth  of  the  Tongue  Eiver,  southeastern  Mon- 
tana. They  marched  to  cross  the  Yellowstone  belo\^ 
this  fort;  and  while  near  the  Yellowstone  they  drove 
back  a  soldiers'  wagon-train  that  was  trying  to  reach 
the  fort. 

The  wagons  tried  again,  five  days  later,  and  there 
was  another  fight.  Sitting  Bull  sent  a  note  to  the  white 
chief. 

Yellowstone. 

I  want  to  know  wliat  you  are  doing  traveling  by  this  road.    You 

scare  all  the  buffalo  away.    I  want  to  hunt  in  this  place.    I  want 

you  to  turn  back  from  here.    If  you  <lon%  I  will  fight  you  again. 

I  want  you  to  leave  what  you  have  got  here  and  turn  back  from  here. 

I  am  your  friend. 

Sitting  BuLii. 
I  mean  all  the  rations  you  have  got  and  some  powder.    Wislj 
you  would  write  as  soon  as  you  can. 

This  was  a  *  ^feeler,''  to  see  what  kind  of  a  man  thd 
w^hite  chief  was.  The  white  chief,  whose  name  was 
Lieutenant-Colonel  E.  S.  Otis,  of  the  Twenty-second  In- 
fantry, answered  at  once. 

To  Sitting  Bull: 

I  intend  to  take  this  train  through  to  Tongue  Eiver,  and  will  be 
pleased  to  accommodate  you  with  a  fight  at  any  time. 

Sitting  Bull  and  his  chiefs  held  council.  If  they 
might  make  a  peace,  they  could  stay  out  all  winter  with 
their  families,  and  when  the  grass  greened  in  the  spring 

301 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

they  could  travel  as  they  pleased.  The  white  soldiers 
had  the  advantage,  in  the  wiater. 

So  two  Indians  were  sent  forward  with  a  flag  of 
truce,  to  say  that  the  Sitting  Bull  people  were  hungry 
and  tired,  and  to  propose  a  peace  tahr.  The  white 
chief  said  that  there  was  a  higher  chief  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Tongue  Eiver,  with  whom  they  must  talk,  but 
he  sent  them  some  bread  and  bacon. 

Sitting  Bull  and  Chief  Gall,  Low  Neck,  Pretty  Bull 
and  the  others  did  not  go  to  lind,  the  white  commanding 
chief ;  they  continued  on,  and  in  a  few  days  the  Ameri- 
can commander  caught  up  with  them,  himself,  north  of 
the  Yellowstone. 

He  agreed  to  meet  Sitting  Bull  between  the  lines,  for 
a  talk.  They  each  took  six  men.  .The  white  chief  was 
Colonel  Nelson  A.  Miles.  He  had  only  about  four  hun- 
dred soldiers,  and  one  cannon.  Sitting  Bull  had  one 
thousand  warriors,  and  was  not  afraid. 

**  What  are  all  these  soldiers  doing  in  this  country  T' 
he  demanded.  **>Why  don't  they  stay  in  their  forts, 
where  they  belong?  It  is  time  they  went  there,  for  the 
winter.'' 

**The  soldiers  are  in  this  country  to  bring  you  and 
your  men  out  and  put  them  on  the  reservation,"  re- 
plied Colonel  Miles.  *'We  do  not  wish  war.  But  if 
you  insist  on  war,  then  you  will  be  shut  up.  You  can- 
not roam  about  over  the  country,  and  cause  trouble." 

**This  country  belongs  to  the  Indian  and  not  to  the 
white  man, ' '  retorted  Sitting  Bull.  '  *  AVe  want  nothing 
to  do  with  the  white  man.  iWe  want  the  white  man  to 
go  away,  and  leave  us  alone.    No  white  man  ever  lived 

302 


SITTING  BULL  THE  WAR  MAKER 

wLo  loved  an  Indian,  and  no  true  Indian  ever  lived  that 
did  not  hate  the  white  man.  God  Almighty  made  me 
an  Indian.  He  did  not  make  me  an  agency  Indian,  and 
I'll  fight  and  die  fighting  before  any  white  man  can 
make  me  an  agency  Indian.  How  did  you  know  yt^here 
I  was  to  be  found  T' 

*  *  I  not  only  knew  where  you  were,  but  I  know  where 
you  came  from  and  where  you're  going, '^  asserted 
Colonel  Miles. 

** Where  am  I  going?" 

*'You  intend  to  remain  here  three  days,  iand  then 
move  to  the  Big  Dry  and  hunt  buffalo." 

This  showed  Sitting  Bull  that  he  had  been  betrayed 
by  spies.  He  flared  into  a  rage,  and  his  words  were 
hot.  He  hated  the  whites ;  he  had  a  thousand  warriors 
at  hin  back,  and  his  power  was  great. 

He  would  make  peace,  but  only  if  all  the  white  men 
got  out  of  the  country.  There  must  bo  no  forts  or 
roads  or  towns.  He  wanted  no  presents  of  food  or 
clothing  from  the  United  States.  If  the  United  States 
would  leave  a  few  trading  posts,  he  would  trade  for 
powder  and  flour,  but  he  would  live  free,  to  do  as  he 
chose. 

So  this  talk  and  other  talks  amounted  to  nothing 
new.  The  white  chief  told  him  to  prepare  for  war,  and 
there  was  a  battle.  At  one  moment,  the  Sitting  Bull 
warriors  had  the  soldiers  surrounded ;  but  the  cannon 
shells  were  too  much  to  face,  the  walking  soldiers  stood 
stanch,  and  finally  the  Sioux  had  to  retreat  with  their 
families. 

The  white  chief,  Miles,  proved  to  be  a  stubborn 

303 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

figliter.  He  pursued  and  captured  almost  all  the  camp 
supplies.  This  broke  the  hearts  of  the  Sitting  Bull 
band.  His  medicine  had  grown  weak.  Five  chiefs, 
with  two  thousand  of  the  warriors  and  women  and  chil- 
dren, surrendered,  so  as  to  be  kept  warm  and  to  be  sure 
of  food.  But  Sitting  Bull  and  Gall  went  on,  leading 
four  hundred  northward. 

The  weather  got  very  cold  and  snowy.  They  stayed 
for  a  time  near  the  Missouri  Kiver  in  northern  Mon- 
tana. Sitting  Bull's  medicine  failed  entirely.  The 
soldiers  marched  upon  them  right  through  the  bliz- 
zards, and  no  place  seemed  safe. 

The  other  bands  were  being  captured.  The  walking 
soldiers  and  the  big-guns-that-shot-twice  were  every- 
where, to  south,  east  and  west.  The  Crazy  Horse 
Cheyennes  and  Oglalas  were  taken.  They  agreed  to 
go  upon  the  reservation. 

When  Sitting  Bull  heard  of  this,  he  resolved  to  get 
out  of  reach  of  the  Americans  altogether.  He  and 
Gall  headed  north  again,  and  crossed  into  Canada. 

This  was  Sioux  country,  too.  The  Sioux  never  had 
had  any  dispute  with  the  Great  White  Mother;  she 
seemed  better  than  the  Great  "Wliite  Father.  Accord- 
ingly Sitting  Bull  plumped  himself  and  his  band  down 
upon  Canada  ground,  and  defied  the  United  States  to 
meddle  with  him. 

Other  runaways  joined  him.  It  was  now  spring. 
Some  of  the  runaways  were  from  the  reservation. 
They  reported  that  they  had  almost  starved,  there, 
during  the  winter. 

So  when  the  United  States  sent  up  after  Sitting  Bull, 

304 


SITTING  BULL  THE  WAR  MAKER 

he  lauglied.     General  Terry,  his  old  enemy,  was  in  the 
American  party,  and  did  the  talking. 

The  President  invited  the  Sioux  to  come  back  into 
the  United  States,  and  give  up  their  arms  and  their 
horses,  in  exchange  for  cows.  Sitting  Bull  replied 
scornfully. 

^*For  sixty-four  years  you  have  kept  me  and  my 
people,  and  treated  us  bad.  What  have  we  done  that 
you  should  wish  us  to  stop?  We  have  done  nothing. 
It  is  all  the  people  on  your  side  who  have  started  us 
to  do  as  we  did.  We  could  not  go  anywhere  else,  so 
we  came  here.  I  would  like  to  know  why  you  come 
here?  I  did  not  give  you  that  country;  but  you  fol- 
lowed me  about,  so  I  had  to  leave  and  come  over  to  this 
country.  You  have  got  ears,  and  eyes  to  see  with,  and 
you  see  how  I  live  with  these  people.  You  see  me. 
Here  I  am.  If  you  think  I  am  a  fool,  you  are  a  bigger 
fool  than  I  am.  You  come  here  to  tell  us  lies,  but  we 
don't  want  to  hear  them.  I  don't  wish  any  such  lan- 
guage used  to  me.  This  country  is  mine,  and  I  intend 
to  stay  here  and  raise  this  country  full  of  grown  peo- 
ple. That  is  enough,  so  no  more.  The  part  of  the 
country  you  gave  me,  you  ran  me  out  of.  I  don't  want 
to  hear  two  more  words.  I  wish  you  to  go  back,  and 
to  take  it  easy  going  back.  Tell  them  in  Washington 
if  they  have  one  man  who  speaks  the  truth  to  send  him 
to  me  and  I  will  listen.  I  don't  believe  in  a  Govern- 
ment that  has  made  fifty-two  treaties  with  the  Sioux 
and  has  kept  none  of  them." 

Back  went  the  commission,  to  report  that  they  could 
do  nothing  at  all  with  Sitting  Bull. 

305 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

Other  parties  from  the  American  side  of  the  line 
crossed  over  to  talk  with  Sitting  Bull.  He  laid  down 
the  law  to  them. 

**If  the  Great  Father  gives  me  a  reservation  I  don't 
want  to  be  held  on  any  part  of  it.  I  will  keep  on  the 
reservation,  but  I  want  to  go  where  I  please.  I  don^t 
want  a  white  man  over  me.  I  don't  want  an  agent.  I 
want  to  have  a  white  man  with  me,  but  not  to  bo  my 
chief.  I  can't  trust  any  one  else  to  trade  with  my 
people  or  talk  to  them.  I  want  interpreters,  but  I 
want  it  to  be  seen  and  known  that  I  have  my  rights. 
I  don't  want  to  give  up  game  as  long  as  there  is  any 
game.  I  will  be  half  white  until  the  game  is  gone. 
Then  I  will  be  all  white." 

**Did  you  lead  in  the  Custer  fight?" 

**  There  was  a  Great  Spirit  who  guided  and  con- 
trolled that  battle.  I  could  do  nothing.  I  was  sup- 
ported by  the  Great  Mysterious  One.  I  am  not  afraid 
to  talk  about  that.  It  all  happened — it  is  past  and 
gone.  I  do  not  lie.  Low  Dog  says  I  can't  fight  until 
some  one  lends  me  a  heart.  Gall  says  my  heart  is  no 
bigger  than  a  finger-nail.  We  have  all  fought  hard. 
We  did  not  know  Custer.  When  we  saw  him  we  threw 
up  our  hands,  and  I  cried,  *  Follow  me  and  do  as  I  do.' 
We  whipped  each  other's  horses,  and  it  was  all 
over." 

By  this  it  is  seen  that  Sitting  Bull  was  a  poser,  and 
had  lost  the  respect  of  the  Sioux.  Chief  Gall  despised 
him.  The  camp  was  getting  unhappy.  The  life  in 
Canada  was  not  an  easy  life.  The  Great  White 
Mother  let  the  red  children  stay,  because  it  was  Indian 

306 


SITTING  BULL  THE  WAR  MAKER 

country,  but  she  refused  to  feed  them,  or  help  them 
against  the  United  States. 

There  were  no  buffalo  near.  When  the  Sioux  raided 
into  the  United  States,  the  soldiers  and  the  Crow  scouts 
were  waiting.  Their  old  hunting  grounds  were  closed 
tight. 

Rain-in-the-face  and  other  chiefs  surrendered,  to  go 
to  the  reservation.  Chief  Gall  defied  Sitting  Bull,  and 
took  two  thirds  of  the  remaining  Indians  and  surren- 
dered, also. 

Sitting  Bull  now  had  only  forty-five  men  and  one 
hundred  and  forty  women  and  children.  They  all  were 
starving.  A  white  scout  visited  them,  with  promise  of 
pardon  by  the  United  States.  So  in  July,  of  1881,  after 
he  had  stayed  away  four  years,  he  surrendered,  at 
Fort  Buford  at  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone  River. 

He  came  in  sullen  and  sour  and  unconquered,  but  not 
as  a  conqueror.  They  all  were  dirty  and  shabby  and 
hungry.  With  Sitting  Bull  there  rode  on  ponies  his  old 
father,  Four  Horns,^  and  his  elder  children.  In  a 
wagon  piled  high  with  camp  goods  rode  his  two  wives, 
one  of  whom  was  named  Pretty  Plume,  and  his  small 
children. 

A  long  train  of  other  wagons  and  carts  followed. 
There  was  no  glory  in  this  return. 

At  the  Standing  Rock  Sioux  agency  he  found  that 
Chief  Gall  was  the  real  ruler.  The  people  there  now 
thought  little  of  Sitting  Bull.  His  medicine  had  proved 
weak.  He  tried  to  make  it  strong,  and  he  was  laughed 
at. 

Soon  the  Government  deemed  best  to  remove  him 

307 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

and  his  main  band,  and  shut  them  up  for  a  while.  Sit- 
ting Bull  was  kept  ^  prisoner  of  war  for  two  years. 
After  that  he  took  a  trip  through  the  East,  but  he  was 
hissed.  He  rode  in  the  Buffalo  Bill  Wild  West  show 
for  a  short  time.  But  the  white  people  never  forgot 
the  Custer  battle,  and  looked  upon  Sitting  Bull  as  a 
thoroughly  bad  Indian. 

He  assumed  to  settle  down,  at  peace,  upon  the  Stand- 
ing Rock  reservation,  in  a  cabin  not  far  from  the  place 
where  he  had  been  born.  But  as  he  had  said,  he  was 
not  **an  agency  Indian,'*  and  did  not  want  to  be  an 
agency  Indian. 

There  is  another  chapter  to  be  written  about  Sitting 
Bull. 


308 


CHAPTER  XXV 

CHIEF  JOSEPH  GOES  TO  WAR  (1877) 
AND   OUT-GENEEALS   THE   UNITED  STATES  ARMY 

AFTER  Colonel  Nelson  A.  Miles  of  the  Fifth  In- 
fantry had  driven  Sitting  Bull  and  Chief  Gall  of 
the  Sioux  into  Canada  and  his  troops  were  trying  to 
stop  their  raids  back,  at  present  Fort  Keogh  near 
Miles  City  on  the  Yellowstone  River  in  southeastern 
Montana  he  received  word  of  another  Indian  war. 

The  friendly  Pierced  Noses  of  Oregon  had  broken 
the  peace  chain.  They  had  crossed  the  mountains  and 
were  on  their  way  north,  for  Canada. 

That  the  Pierced  Noses  had  taken  the  war  trail  was 
astonishing  news.  For  one  hundred  years  they  had 
held  the  hand  of  the  white  man.  Their  proudest  boast 
said :    *  *  The  Nez  Perces  have  never  shed  white  blood. ' ' 

They  spoke  truly.  During  the  seventy  years  since 
the  two  captains  Lewis  and  Clark  had  met  them  in 
1805,  only  one  white  man  had  been  killed  by  a  Pierced 
Nose.  That  was  not  in  war,  but  in  a  private  quarrel 
between  the  two. 

Hunters,  traders  and  missionaries  had  always  been 
helped  by  the  Pierced  Noses.  The  white  man's  reli- 
gion had  been  favored.  The  Good  Book  had  been 
prized. 

Young  Chief  Joseph  was  now  the  leader  of  the 

309 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

Pierced  Noses  upon  the  war  trail.  Ilis  Indian  name 
was  Hin-ma-ton  Ya-lat-kit — Thunder-rising-from-the- 
water-over-the-land.  But  bis  father  had  been  chris- 
tened Joseph  by  the  missionaries ;  so  the  son  was  called 
Young  Chief  Joseph. 

A  tall,  commanding,  splendid-looking  Indian  he  had 
grown  to  be,  at  forty  years  of  age.  He  was  every  inch 
a  chief,  and  had  a  noble  face. 

His  people  were  the  Lower  Nez  Perces,  who  lived 
in  the  beautiful  Wallowa  Valley — their  Valley  of  the 
Winding  Waters,  in  northeastern  Oregon.  Here  they 
raised  many  horses,  and  hunted,  but  put  in  few  crops. 
Old  Chief  Joseph  had  believed  that  the  earth  should 
not  be  disturbed;  the  people  should  eat  only  what  it 
produced  of  itself.    The  earth  was  their  mother. 

He  believed  also  that  nobody  owned  any  part  of  the 
earth.  The  earth  had  been  given  to  all,  by  the  Great 
Creator.  Everybody  had  a  right  to  use  what  was 
needed. 

Twenty  years  ago,  or  in  1855,  Old  Chief  Joseph  had 
signed  a  paper,  by  which  the  United  States  agreed  to 
let  the  Pierced  Noses  alone  on  their  wide  lands  of  west- 
ern Idaho,  and  eastern  Oregon  and  Washington. 

But  it  was  seen  that  the  Pierced  Noses  did  not  culti- 
vate the  better  portion  of  this  country;  the  white  men 
wanted  to  plough  the  Valley  of  Winding  Waters ;  and 
eight  years  later  another  treaty  was  made,  which  cut 
out  the  Winding  Waters.  It  narrowed  the  Nez  Perces 
to  the  Lapwai  reservation  in  Idaho. 

Old  Chief  Joseph  did  not  sign  this  treaty.  Other 
chiefs  signed,  for  the  Nez  Perces.    The  United  States 

310 


CHIEF  JOSEPH  GOES  TO  WAR 

thought  that  this  was  enough,  as  it  considered  the 

Pierced  Noses  to  be  one  nation.    The  Valley  of  the 

Winding  Waters  was  said  to  be  open  to  white  settlers. 

The  Old  Chief  Joseph  Pierced  Noses  continued  to 

live  there,  just  the  same.    They  asserted  that  they  had 

never  given  it  up,  and  that  the  Upper  Pierced  Noses 

had  no  right  to  speak  for  the  Lower  Pierced  Noses. 

As  Young  Chief  Joseph  afterwards  explained: 

** Suppose  a  white  man  comes  to  me  and  says: 

*  Joseph,  I  like  your  horses  and  I  want  to  buy  them.' 
I  say  to  him:  *No;  my  horses  suit  me;  I  will  not  sell 
them. '    Then  he  goes  to  my  neighbor,  and  says  to  him : 

*  Joseph  has  some  good  horses.  I  want  them,  but  he 
refuses  to  sell.'  My  neighbor  answers:  *Pay  me  the 
money  and  I  will  sell  you  Joseph's  horses. '  The  white 
man  returns  to  me  and  says:  *  Joseph,  I  have  bought 
your  horses  and  you  must  let  me  have  them. '  That  is 
the  way  our  lands  were  bought." 

When  Old  Joseph  died.  Young  Joseph  held  his  hand 
and  listened  to  his  words : 

My  son,  my  body  is  returning  to  my  mother  earth,  and  my  spirit 
is  going  very  soon  to  see  the  Great  Spirit  Chief.  When  I  am  gone, 
think  of  your  country.  You  are  the  chief  of  these  people.  They 
look  to  you  to  guide  them.  Always  remember  that  your  father  never 
sold  his  country.  You  must  stop  your  ea.rs  whenever  you  are  asked 
to  sign  a  treaty  selling  your  home.  A  few  years  more,  and  white 
men  will  be  all  around  you.  They  have  their  eyes  on  this  land.  My 
son,  never  forget  my  dying  words.  This  country  holds  your  father's 
body.    Never  sell  the  bones  of  your  father  and  your  mother. 


Young  Joseph  promised. 

*'A  man  who  would  not  love  his  father's  grave  is 
worse  than  a  wild  animal,"  he  said. 

311 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

After  that  he  was  careful  never  to  accept  any  pres- 
ents from  the  United  States. 

Even  before  the  treaty  of  1863  which  was  supposed 
to  cover  the  Winding  Waters  valley,  the  white  men  had 
invaded  the  Pierced  Nose  country.  Gold  had  been 
discovered  in  Idaho.  In  1861  the  white  man's  town  of 
Lewiston  had  been  laid  out,  among  the  Nez  Perces — 
and  there  it  was,  without  permission. 

The  Black  Hills  were  being  taken  from  the  Sioux,  in 
the  same  way. 

Now  trouble  occurred  between  the  Indians  and  the 
whites  in  the  Valley  of  the  Winding  Waters,  also.  The 
Government  started  in  to  buy  the  settlers'  claims,  so 
that  the  Pierced  Noses  might  remain  undisturbed,  but 
Congress  did  not  appropriate  the  money. 

In  order  to  force  the  Indians  off,  the  settlers  stole 
their  horses,  and  their  cattle;  Indians  were  whipped, 
and  killed.  Chief  Joseph's  brother  was  killed.  The 
murderer  was  not  brought  to  trial,  because  Joseph 
would  not  allow  his  people  to  appear  in  court. 

**I  have  decided  to  let  him  escape  and  enjoy  life," 
said  Joseph.  **I  will  not  take  his  life  for  the  one  he 
took.  I  do  not  want  anything  in  payment  for  what 
he  did.    I  pronounce  the  sentence  that  he  shall  live." 

All  that  the  Nez  Perces  asked,  was  that  the  white 
men  get  out. 

Among  the  Indians  of  this  Columbia  Eiver  region 
there  had  sprung  up  a  prophet,  as  in  the  days  of  Te- 
cumseh.  His  name  was  Smo-hal-la.  He  preached  the 
doctrine  that  the  land  belonged  to  the  Indians,  and 
that  the  red  man  was  the  real  child  of  the  Great  Spirit. 

312 


CHIEF  JOSEPH  GOES  TO  WAR 

A  day  was  nearing,  when  the  Great  Spirit  would  re- 
people  the  earth  with  Indians,  and  the  white  race  would 
be  driven  out.  In  the  meantime  the  red  men  must  live 
in  their  own  way,  and  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  white 
men.  They  must  not  dig  into  the  body  of  their 
*^ mother,''  the  earth. 

The  followers  of  Smohalla  were  called  Dreamers. 
Chief  Joseph  was  a  member  of  the  Dreamers :  so  were 
many  of  his  band. 

As  the  Chief  Joseph  people  would  not  come  in  upon 
the  Lapwai  reservation,  and  the  missionaries  and  In- 
dian agent  and  soldiers  could  not  persuade  them,  Gen- 
eral Oliver  0.  Howard,  w^ho  commanded  the  Military 
Department  of  the  Columbia,  met  in  council  with  them, 
at  Fort  Lapwai,  in  April  and  May,  1876. 

General  Howard  was  a  brave  soldier  who  had  lost 
his  right  arm  in  the  battle  of  Fair  Oats,  during  the 
Civil  War.  He  was  a  kind,  just  man,  one  whom  the 
Apaches  and  other  tribes  greatly  trusted ;  but  he  could 
do  little  with  the  stubborn  Pierced  Noses. 

They  usually  dressed  like  white  people.  When  they 
came  to  the  council  they  were  painted,  and  wore  buck- 
skins and  blankets,  according  to  the  custom  of  the 
Dreamers. 

Chief  Joseph  finally  appeared.  His  younger 
brother,  Ollicut,  whom  he  dearly  loved,  was  here.  So 
were  Hush-hush-cute,  chief  of  the  Palouse  tribe  who 
mingled  with  the  Pierced  Noses  in  friendship ;  and  Sub- 
Chiefs  Looking  Glass  and  White  Bird;  and  old  Too- 
hul-hul-so-te,  a  Too-at,  or  Drummer  Dreamer  chief. 

In  the  principal  councils  Too-hul-hul-so-te  was  the 

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BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

most  out-spoken,  for  the  Pierced  Noses.  Chief  Joseph 
and  Ollicut  his  brother  were  more  quiet.  But  General 
Howard  and  Toohulhulsote  had  several  tilts. 

The  white  chiefs  stated  that  the  Nez  Perces  were  to 
go  upon  the  Lapwai  reservation;  then  they  would  be 
given  the  privilege  of  hunting  and  fishing  in  the  Wind- 
ing Waters  country. 

**The  earth  is  our  mother.  When  the  earth  was 
made,  there  were  no  marks  or  lines  placed  upon  it," 
grunted  the  surly,  broad-shouldered  Toohulhulsote. 
**The  earth  yields  enough,  of  itself.  It  is  not  to  be 
disturbed  by  ploughs.  It  is  not  to  be  bought  or  sold. 
It  carries  its  own  chieftain-ship.  Nobody  can  sell  pos- 
session of  it.  We  never  have  made  any  trade.  Part 
of  the  Indians  gave  up  their  land.  We  never  did. 
The  Great  Spirit  made  the  earth  as  it  is,  and  as  he 
wanted  it,  and  he  made  a  part  of  it  for  us  to  live  upon. 
I  don't  see  where  you  get  the  right  to  say  we  shall 
not  live  where  he  placed  us.'' 

*'You  have  said  twenty  times  that  the  earth  is  your 
mother,"  replied  General  Howard,  growing  angry. 
**Let  us  hear  no  more  about  it,  but  come  to  business." 

**Who  are  you,  that  you  ask  us  to  talk  and  then  tell 
me  I  sha'n't  talk!"  retorted  the  saucy  old  Toohulhul- 
sote. *'Are  you  the  Great  Spirit?  Did  you  make  the 
world?  Did  you  make  the  sun?  Did  you  make  the 
rivers  to  run  for  us  to  drink?  Did  you  make  the  grass 
to  grow?  Did  you  make  all  these  things,  that  you  talk 
to  us  as  though  we  were  boys?  If  you  did,  then  you 
have  the  right  to  talk  as  you  do." 

**But,"  argued  General  Howard,  **you  know  very 

314 


CHIEF  JOSEPH  GOES  TO  WAR 

well  that  the  Government  has  fixed  a  reservation  and 
that  the  Indian  must  go  upon  it." 

**What  person  pretends  to  divide  the  land  and  put 
me  on  it  r*  growled  old  Toohulhulsote. 

*^I  am  the  man,''  General  Howard  answered.  **I 
stand  here  for  the  President.'^ 

**The  Indians  may  do  as  they  like,  but  I  am  not 
going  on  the  reservation,"  announced  Toohulhulsote. 

His  words  were  causing  much  excitement  and  bad 
feeling,  and  General  Howard  ordered  him  arrested. 
The  young  men  murmured  among  themselves,  and 
would  have  begun  war  at  once  by  rescuing  him;  but 
Chief  Joseph  spoke  to  them  and  quieted  them. 

Toohulhulsote  was  kept  locked  up  for  five  days. 
Meanwhile  Chief  Joseph  had  resolved  to  permit  no 
war. 

**I  said  in  my  heart,"  related  Joseph,  **that  rather 
than  have  war  I  would  give  up  my  country.  I  would 
rather  give  up  my  father's  grave.  I  would  give  up 
everything,  rather  than  have  the  blood  of  white  men 
on  the  hands  of  my  people." 

Thirty  days  was  named  as  the  time  within  which  he 
must  gather  his  people  and  goods  and  remove  to  the 
reservation.  He  counseled  everybody  to  obey.  When 
Toohulhulsote  came  home  he  urged  the  Nez  Perces 
men  to  fight,  and  not  be  driven  like  dogs  from  the  land 
where  they  were  born ;  but  Joseph  stood  with  a  strong 
heart. 

The  time  seemed  too  short  for  moving  so  many 
families,  their  horses  and  cattle.  Still,  he  worked 
hard,  and  all  was  going  smoothly,  when  without  warn- 

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BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

ing  some  bad  white  men  raided  the  gathered  cattle, 
and  killed  one  of  the  herders. 

This  aroused  the  young  men,  again.  A  grand  coun- 
cil of  the  Pierced  Noses  met,  and  talked  war  and  peace 
both.  Chief  Joseph  talked  peace.  He  was  very  anx- 
ious to  get  his  people  into  the  reservation  before  more 
killings  took  place.    The  thirty  days  were  almost  up. 

Then,  on  the  very  last  day,  or  June  13,  his  young 
men  broke  away  from  him.  There  was  one,  whose  fa- 
ther had  been  killed  by  the  settlers.  There  were  the 
young  man's  father's  relatives.  There  were  two  In- 
dians who  had  been  whipped. 

The  young  man  rode  away  from  the  council,  vowing 
war.  He  and  his  friends  went  out;  they  killed  the 
white  murderer,  and  others;  they  came  back  and 
shouted  to  the  council: 

**Why  do  you  sit  here  like  women?  The  war  has 
already  begun.  * ' 

So  it  had.  Joseph  and  Ollicut  were  not  here,  but 
Chief  White  Bird  hastened  about,  crying : 

**A11  must  join  now.  There  is  blood.  You  will  be 
punished  if  you  stay  back." 

More  went  out.  The  man  who  had  whipped  the  two 
Indians  was  killed.  A  dozen  of  the  settlers  were  killed. 
Chief  Joseph  found  that  war  had  been  declared ;  plenty 
of  ammunition  had  been  collected  without  his  knowing 
it;  there  was  no  use  in  any  peace  talk  now. 

He  tried  to  make  his  people  agree  not  to  injure  more 
settlers.  Then  he  moved  the  camp  to  White  Bird 
Canyon,  at  the  Salmon  River  in  Idaho  just  across  from 
the  northeast  corner  of  Oregon. 

316 


CHIEF  JOSEPH  GOES  TO  WAR 

They  did  not  have  long  to  wait.  General  Howard 
at  once  sent  two  troops  of  the  First  Cavalry  against 
him.  Troop  F  was  commanded  by  Captain  David 
Perry,  and  First  Lieutenant  Edward  Russell  Theller  of 
the  Twenty-first  Infantry ;  Troop  H  was  commanded  by 
Captain  J.  G.  Trimble  and  First  Lieutenant  William  E. 
Parnell.  The  two  troops  numbered  ninety  men.  Ten 
settlers  joined  them,  so  that  the  whole  number  was  one 
hundred. 

Chief  Joseph  and  Chief  White  Bird  his  assistant  had 
sijxty  warriors.  At  dawn  of  June  17  Ollicut,  through 
a  spy-glass,  saw  the  soldiers  entering  the  narrow  can- 
yon. 

Ollicut  and  White  Bird  wished  to  cross  over  the 
Salmon  River  with  the  women  and  children,  and  fight 
from  the  other  side. 

**No,  we  will  fight  them  here,"  said  Joseph. 

He  had  never  fought  a  battle.  The  soldiers  and  set- 
tlers did  not  expect  him  to  do  much ;  he  himself  did  not 
know  what  he  could  do ;  but  he  was  a  bom  general,  he 
had  watched  the  white  soldiers  drill,  and,  as  he  ex- 
plained: **The  Great  Spirit  puts  it  into  the  heart  and 
head  of  man  to  know  how  to  defend  himself.*' 

Now  he  stowed  the  women  and  children  in  a  safe 
place,  and  posted  his  warriors.  White  Bird  com- 
manded the  right  flank ;  he,  the  left.  He  cleverly  seized 
upon  the  high  ground  on  the  broken  sides  of  the  can- 
yon. 

The  soldiers  rode  in,  by  column  of  twos,  until  at  the 
wide  spot  they  changed  to  column  of  fours.  Chief 
Joseph's  men  suddenly  fired.    Captain  Perry  used  all 

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BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

his  military  skill,  but  in  short  order  he  was  thoroughly 
defeated. 

Joseph  missed  not  a  point.  No  white  man  could 
have  done  better.  He  threatened  the  right  flank — 
Captain  Perry  hastened  men  to  strengthen  it  and  then 
White  Bird  turned  the  left  flank.  The  volunteers  ran 
away,  Chief  Joseph  grabbed  the  best  position ;  now  he 
had  the  soldiers  under  his  thumb,  and  they  retreated 
helter-skelter. 

He  cut  off  the  rear  guard,  and  every  one  in  it  was 
killed  fighting.  Captain  Perry  had  worked  hard  to 
rally  his  men.  No  use.  The  Chief  Joseph  men 
pressed  furiously. 

The  actual  battle  had  occupied  only  a  few  minutes. 
The  soldiers  lost  Lieutenant  Theller  and  thirty-two 
men  shot  dead,  out  of  the  ninety ;  seven  were  wounded. 
The  volunteers  lost  four  men.  The  Pierced  Noses  did 
not  try  to  take  any  scalps. 

Chief  Joseph's  warriors  pursued  for  twelve  miles, 
and  quit.  During  the  battle  his  wife  was  presented  by 
the  Great  Spirit  with  a  little  daughter.  So  now  he  had 
a  baby  to  look  out  for. 

Captain  Perry  was  much  mortified  by  the  easy  vic- 
tory over  him.  The  Pierced  Noses  of  Joseph  and 
White  Bird  rejoiced.  They  had  done  better  than  they 
had  expected.  The  soldiers  had  proved  to  be  not  very 
great. 

Joseph  had  planned  to  take  his  people  only  beyond 
the  Bitter  Boot  Mountains  of  northeastern  Idaho,  by 
the  Pierced  Noses'  Eoad-to-the-buffalo,  and  stay  in  the 
Powder  Kiver  country  of  Montana  until  he  might  come 

318 


CHIEF  JOSEPH  GOES  TO  WAR 

to  terms  with  the  United  States.  He  was  willing  to 
risk  the  Sioux. 

But  General  Howard  did  not  sleep.  He  summoned 
troops  from  all  his  wide  department  of  the  Columbia. 
The  telegraph  carried  the  word  into  California,  and 
down  into  Arizona. 

When  he  had  two  hundred  soldiers  he  led  them,  him- 
self. Chief  Joseph  ferried  his  women  and  children 
over  the  roaring  Salmon  Eiver  on  skin  rafts  towed  by- 
swimming  ponies,  and  put  the  river  between  him  and 
General  Howard. 

General  Howard  viewed  the  position,  and  was 
puzzled.  His  rival  general  was  a  genius  in  defense. 
He  crossed  the  river,  to  the  attack.  Chief  Joseph 
dodged  him,  crossed  the  river  farther  north,  and  cir- 
cling southward  cut  his  trail  and  his  communications 
with  Fort  Lapwai;  fell  upon  Captain  S.  G.  Whipple's 
First  Cavalry,  which  was  in  his  path — surrounded 
it,  wiped  out  Lieutenant  Sevier  Rains  and  ten  caval- 
rymen, scattered  the  reinforcements,  and  passed  on, 
for  the  Road-to-the-buffalo. 

General  Howard  heard  that  he  had  been  side-stepped, 
and  that  the  Nez  Perces  were  beyond  his  lines.  With 
almost  six  hundred  men,  two  field-pieces  and  a  Gatling 
gun  he  followed  at  best  speed.  The  '* treaty''  or 
friendly  Pierced  Noses  aided  him;  so  did  the  Bannock 
Indians. 

Chief  Joseph  had  been  joined  by  his  friend  Chief 
Looking  Glass.  Now  he  had  two  hundred  and  fifty 
warriors — ^also  four  hundred  and  Miy  women  and  chil- 
dren, two  thousand  horses,  as  many  cattle,  and  much 

319 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

lodge  baggage.  In  all  the  history  of  wars,  no  general 
carried  a  greater  burden. 

On  July  11  he  turned  at  the  banks  of  the  south  Clear- 
water, in  northern  Idaho,  to  give  battle  again.  He  had 
thrown  up  dirt  entrenchments,  and  was  waiting  for 
General  Howard's  infantry,  cavalry,  artillery  and 
scouts. 

General  Howard  formed  line.  He  had  graduated 
with  honors  at  West  Point  in  1854,  and  had  won  high 
rank  in  the  Civil  War.  But  Joseph  wellnigh  defeated 
him — nearly  captured  his  supply  train,  did  capture  a 
spring  and  keep  him  from  the  drinking  water;  and  had 
it  not  been  for  reinforcements  coming  in  and  creating 
two  attacks  at  once  on  the  Pierced  Noses '  position,  he 
would  have  made  General  Howard  retire. 

The  battle  lasted  two  days.  It  was  really  a  victory 
for  Chief  Joseph. 

**I  do  not  think  that  I  had  to  exercise  more  thorough 
generalship  during  the  Civil  War,*'  General  Howard 
confessed. 

Chief  Joseph  withdrew  his  people  in  good  order. 
General  Howard  in  desperation  sent  the  cavalry,  under 
Chief-of-Staff  E.  C.  Mason,  to  find  the  Pierced  Noses 
and  hold  them.  Colonel  Mason  did  not  find  them — 
they  found  him,  and  he  was  very  glad  to  return  in  haste 
to  General  Howard. 

The  Joseph  people  were  now  safely  in  the  Lo-lo 
Trail,  or  the  Eoad-to-the-buffalo,  that  wound  up  the 
Bitter  Root  Range,  and  down  on  the  other  side.  On 
this  trail  the  two  captains  Lewis  and  Clark  had  almost 
perished.    What  with  the  great  forest  trees  fallen 

320 


CHIEF  JOSEPH  GOES  TO  WAR 

crisscross,  the  dense  bnisli  and  the  sharp  tumbled 
rocks,  no  trail  could  be  rougher. 

Over  and  under  and  through  the  trees  and  rocks 
Chief  Joseph  forced  his  women  and  children,  his  ponies 
and  cattle  and  baggage.  Behind  him  he  left  blood  and 
disabled  horses  and  cows.  One  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
behind  him  he  left  the  toiling,  panting  soldiers,  whose 
forty  axe-men  were  constantly  at  work  clearing  a  pas- 
sage for  the  artillery  and  the  packs. 

Even  at  that,  the  soldiers  marched  sixteen  miles  a 
day;  but  the  Pierced  Noses  marched  faster. 

The  telegraph  was  swifter  still.  Fort  Missoula,  at 
the  east  end  of  the  trail,  had  been  notified.  Captain 
C.  C.  Eawn  of  the  Seventh  Infantry  hastily  fortified 
the  pass  down,  with  fifty  regulars  and  one  hundred 
volunteers.  Chief  Joseph  side-stepped  him  also,  left 
him  waiting,  and  by  new  trails  turned  south  down  the 
Bitter  Boot  Valley  on  the  east  side  of  the  mountains ! 

The  Bitter  Boot  Valley  was  well  settled.  The 
Pierced  Noses  molested  no  ranches  or  towns.  They 
traded,  as  they  went,  for  supplies. 

Colonel  John  Gibbon,  who  had  campaigned  against 
Sitting  Bull,  now  took  up  the  chase.  Chief  Joseph  did 
not  know  about  Colonel  Gibbon's  troops,  and  made 
camp  on  the  Big  Hole  River,  near  the  border  in  south- 
western Montana.  He  was  preparing  lodge-poles,  to 
take  to  the  buffalo  country. 

Here,  at  dawn  of  August  9,  Colonel  Gibbon  with  two 
hundred  regulars  and  volunteers  surprised  him  com- 
pletely. A  storm  of  bullets  swept  his  lodges,  before  his 
people    were    astir.    Everybody    dived    for    safety. 

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BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

Some  of  the  warriors  left  their  guns.  The  white  sol- 
diers charged  into  the  camp.  All  was  confusion;  all 
was  death — hut  the  warriors  rallied. 

In  twenty  minutes  the  white  soldiers  were  destroying 
the  camp  with  fire.  In  an  hour  they  were  fighting  for 
their  lives.  The  Pierced  Noses  had  not  fled,  as  In- 
dians usually  fled  in  a  surprise ;  they  had  stayed,  had 
surrounded  the  camp  place,  and  were  riddling  the  sol- 
diers' lines. 

The  squaws  and  boys  helped.  On  the  other  side, 
Colonel  Gibbon  himself  used  a  rifle.  He  ordered  his 
troops  into  the  timber.  The  Chief  Joseph  people 
rushed  into  their  camp,  packed  up  under  hot  fire,  and 
bundled  the  women  and  children  and  loose  horses  to 
safety.    The  warriors  remained. 

The  soldiers  threw  up  entrenchments.  Colonel  Gib- 
bon was  wounded.  The  Indians  captured  his  field- 
piece,  and  a  pack  mule  loaded  with  two  thousand  rounds 
of  rifle  ammunition.  They  disabled  the  cannon  and 
drove  off  the  mule.  They  fired  the  grass,  and  only  a 
change  of  wind  saved  the  soldiers  from  being  driven 
into  the  open. 

All  that  day  and  the  next  day  the  battle  lasted.  At 
dusk  of  August  9  Colonel  Gibbon  had  sent  out  couriers, 
with  call  for  reinforcements.  *^Hope  you  will  hurry 
to  our  relief,"  he  appealed,  to  General  Howard. 
Couriers  rode  to  the  Montana  forts,  also.  The  whole 
country  was  being  stirred.  Even  Arizona  was  getting 
troops  ready. 

This  night  of  August  10  Chief  Joseph  learned  from 
one  of  his  scouts  who  had  been  posted  on  the  back 

322 


CHIEF  JOSEPH  GOES  TO  WAR 

trail,  that  General  Howard  was  hurrying  to  the  rescue. 
So  he  withdrew  his  people  again,  to  make  another 
march. 

He  had  lost  heavily.  Eighty  men,  women  and  chil- 
dren were  dead.  Out  of  one  hundred  and  ninety  men 
in  the  battle  of  the  Big  Hole,  Colonel  Gibbon  had  lost 
sixty-nine  in  killed  and  wounded,  including  six  offi- 
cers. 

But  the  white  men  could  easily  get  more  soldiers; 
Chief  Joseph  could  get  no  more  warriors.  He  decided 
to  join  with  Sitting  Bull's  Sioux,  in  Canada. 

Canada  was  a  long  way ;  maybe  a  thousand  miles. 
General  Howard  and  Colonel  Gibbon  pursued.  Joseph 
crossed  the  mountains  again,  into  the  southward.  He 
veered  east  for  the  Yellowstone  National  Park.  On 
the  road  he  found  two  hundred  and  fifty  fresh  ponies. 
General  Howard  sent  Lieutenant  G.  E.  Bacon  with 
cavalry  to  cut  in  front  of  him  and  defend  a  pass ;  and 
camped,  himself,  for  a  short  rest,  on  the  Camas  Mea- 
dows, one  day's  march  behind  the  enemy. 

Chief  Joseph  turned  on  him,  deceived  his  sentries 
with  a  column  of  fours  that  looked  like  Lieutenant 
Bacon's  men  coming  back,  and  ran  off  all  of  General 
Howard's  pack  mules. 

**I  got  tired  of  General  Howard,  and  wanted  to  put 
him  afoot,"  said  Chief  Joseph. 

And  he  almost  did  it ;  for  had  not  the  cavalry  horses 
been  picketed  close  in,  they  would  have  been  stampeded, 
too. 

General  Howard  had  to  wait  for  mules  from  Vir- 
ginia City.    Lieutenant  Bacon  wearied  of  watching  the 

323 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

pass ;  left  it — and  Chief  Joseph  marched  through,  into 
the  Yellowstone  Park. 

Now  Colonel  Miles,  at  Fort  Keogh,  far  in  the  east, 
had  been  notified.  He  sent  out  Colonel  S.  D.  Sturgis 
and  six  companies  of  the  fighting  Seventh  Cavalry, 
with  Crow  scouts,  to  head  Joseph  off. 

Colonel  Sturgis  made  fast  time  to  the  southwest. 
But  Chief  Joseph  fooled  him;  pretended  to  go  in  one 
direction  and  took  another,  leaving  the  Seventh  Cavalry 
forty  miles  at  one  side. 

Colonel  Sturgis  obtained  fresh  horses  from  General 
Howard,  and  started  in  chase.  On  September  17  he 
came  up  with  Chief  Joseph's  rear  guard,  captured  sev- 
eral hundred  ponies  and  sent  back  word  to  General 
Howard  that  there  was  to  be  a  decisive  battle. 

General  Howard  hurried.  He  marched  all  night. 
When  he  got  to  the  battle-field  he  found  only  the 
Seventh  Cavalry  there,  with  three  killed  and  eleven 
wounded,  and  everybody  exhausted.  Chief  Joseph  was 
marching  on,  north,  in  a  great  half  circle.  Somebody 
else  must  head  him  off. 

General  Howard  sent  a  dispatch  to  Colonel  Miles. 

**The  Nez  Perces  have  left  us  hopelessly  in  the  rear. 
Will  you  take  action  to  intercept  theml" 

Prom  Fort  Keogh  on  the  Yellowstone,  one  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  eastward,  Colonel  Miles  sallied  out.  It 
was  a  relay  race  by  the  white  chiefs.  He  took  four 
mounted  companies  of  the  Fifth  Infantry,  three  com- 
panies of  the  Seventh  Cavalry,  three  companies  of  the 
Second  Cavalry,  thirty  Cheyenne  and  Sioux  scouts  and 
some  white  scouts,  a  Hotchkiss  machine  gun,  a  twelve- 

324 


CHIEF  JOSEPH  GOES  TO  WAR 

pounder  Napoleon  field-piece,  a  long  wagon  train 
guarded  by  infantry,  and  a  pack  train  of  mules. 

A  steamboat  was  ordered  to  ascend  the  Missouri, 
and  meet  the  troops  with  more  supplies.  Telegraph, 
steamboats,  trained  soldiers,  supplies — all  the  military 
power  of  the  United  States  was  fighting  Chief  Joseph. 

Joseph  reached  the  Missouri  Eiver  first,  at  Cow  Is- 
land. There  was  a  fort  here,  guarding  a  supply  depot. 
He  seized  the  depot,  burned  it,  and  leaving  the  fort 
with  three  of  its  thirteen  men  killed,  he  crossed  the 
river. 

Canada  was  close  at  hand.  Pretty  soon  he  thought 
that  he  had  crossed  the  line,  and  in  the  Bear  Paw 
Mountains  he  sat  down,  to  rest.  He  had  many 
wounded  to  care  for;  his  women  and  children  were 
worn  out.  He  had  marched  about  two  thousand  miles 
and  had  fought  four  big  battles. 

**I  sat  down,"  said  Joseph,  **in  a  fat  and  beautiful 
country.  I  had  won  my  freedom  and  the  freedom  of 
my  people.  There  were  many  empty  places  in  the 
lodges  and  in  the  council,  but  we  were  in  a  land  where 
we  would  not  be  forced  to  live  in  a  place  we  did  not 
want.  I  believed  that  if  I  could  remain  safe  at  a  dis- 
tance and  talk  straight  to  the  men  sent  by  the  Great 
Father,  I  could  get  back  to  the  Wallowa  Valley  and  re- 
turn in  peace.  That  is  why  I  did  not  allow  my  young 
men  to  kill  and  destroy  the  white  settlers  after  I  began 
to  fight.  I  wanted  to  leave  a  clean  trail,  and  if  there 
were  dead  soldiers  on  it  I  could  not  be  blamed.  I  had 
sent  out  runners  to  find  Sitting  Bull,  to  tell  him  that 
another  band  of  red  men  had  been  forced  to  run  from 

325 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

the  soldiers,  and  to  propose  that  we  join  for  defense  if 
attacked.  My  people  were  recovering.  I  was  ready 
to  move  on  to  a  permanent  camp  when,  one  morning, 
Bear  Coat  and  his  soldiers  came  in  sight,  and  stam- 
peded our  horses.  Then  I  knew  that  I  had  made  a  mis- 
take by  not  crossing  into  the  country  of  the  Eed  Coats ; 
also  in  not  keeping  the  country  scouted  in  my  rear. ' ' 

For  he  was  not  in  Canada.  The  Canada  border  lay 
a  day  *8  march  of  thirty-five  miles  northward  yet.  And 
he  had  not  known  anything  about  Colonel  Miles,  the 
Bear  Coat. 

Colonel  Miles  brought  three  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  soldiers,  and  the  cannon.  Chief  Joseph  had  al- 
ready lost  almost  one  hundred  of  his  men  and  women. 
But  his  brother  Ollicut,  Chief  White  Bird,  and  the 
Drummer  Dreamer,  old  Too-hul-hul-so-te,  were  still 
with  him;  and  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  warriors. 

The  first  charge  of  the  Bear  Coat  cavalry,  early  in 
this  morning  of  September  30, 1877,  scattered  the  camp 
and  cut  off  the  pony  herd.  Chief  Joseph  was  separated 
from  his  wife  and  children.  He  dashed  for  them, 
through  the  soldiers.  His  horse  was  wounded,  his 
clothes  pierced,  but  he  got  to  his  lodge. 

His  wife  handed  him  his  gun. 

^* Take  it.    Fight!" 

And  fight  he  did ;  his  people  fought.  They  dug  rifle- 
pits,  the  same  as  white  soldiers  would.  There  was 
fighting  for  four  days.  The  Bear  Coat  lost  one  fifth 
of  his  officers  and  men.  He  settled  to  a  close  siege, 
shooting  with  his  cannon  and  trying  to  starve  the 
Pierced  Noses.    He  was  much  afraid  that  Sitting  Bull 

326 


CHIEF  JOSEPH  GOES  TO  WAR 

was  coming  down,  and  bringing  the  Sioux.  He  sent 
messages  to  notify  General  Terry,  in  the  east,  and 
General  Howard,  in  the  south. 

Chief  Joseph  *s  heart  ached.  His  brother  Ollicut 
was  dead.  Old  Toohulhulsote  was  dead.  Looking 
Glass  was  dead.  Twenty-four  others  had  been  killed, 
and  forty-six  were  wounded.  He  had  over  three  hun- 
dred women  and  children.  Of  his  own  family,  only 
his  wife  and  baby  were  left  to  him.  Sitting  Bull  did 
not  come. 

**My  people  were  divided  about  surrendering,"  he 
said.  ^*We  could  have  escaped  from  the  Bear  Paw 
Mountains  if  we  had  left  our  wounded,  old  women  and 
children  behind.  We  were  unwilling  to  do  this.  We 
had  never  heard  of  a  wounded  Indian  recovering  while 
in  the  hands  of  white  men.  I  could  not  bear  to  see  my 
wounded  men  and  women  suffer  any  longer." 

So  he  rode  out,  on  the  morning  of  October  5,  and  sur- 
rendered. General  Howard  had  arrived,  at  the  end  of 
his  long  thirteen-hundred-mile  chase,  but  the  surrender 
was  made  to  Colonel  Miles. 

Chief  Joseph  handed  over  his  gun. 

"I  am  tired  of  fighting.  Our  chiefs  are  killed.  Looking  Glass  is 
dead.  Toohulhulsote  is  dead.  The  old  men  are  all  dead.  It  is  the 
young  men  who  say  yes  or  no.  He  who  led  the  young  men  is  dead. 
[That  was  Ollicut.]  It  is  cold  and  we  have  no  blankets.  The  little 
children  are  freezing  to  death.  My  people,  some  of  them,  have 
run  away  to  the  hills,  and  have  no  blankets,  no  food.  No  one  knows 
where  they  are — perhaps  freezing  to  death.  I  want  to  have  time  to 
look  for  my  children  and  see  how  many  of  them  I  can  find.  Maybe 
I  shall  find  them  among  the  dead." 

He  raised  his  hand  high,  toward  the  sun. 

327 


BOYS'     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

"Hear  me,  my  chiefs.  I  am  tired.  My  heart  is  sick  and  sad. 
From  where  the  sun  now  stands  I  will  fight  no  more  forever." 

White  Bird  had  taken  a  company  and  escaped  to 
Canada.  Colonel  Miles  promised  Chief  Joseph  that 
he  would  ask  to  have  the  surrendered  people  sent  back 
to  the  Nez  Perces'  country.  Those  were  the  terms. 
The  surrendered  people  numbered  eighty-seven  men, 
three  hundred  and  thirty-one  women  and  children. 

**Thus,"  reported  General  Sheridan,  the  head  of  the 
army,  **has  terminated  one  of  the  most  extraordinary 
Indian  wars  of  which  there  is  any  record.  The  Indians 
throughout  displayed  a  courage  and  skill  that  elicited 
universal  praise;  they  abstained  from  scalping,  let 
captive  women  go  free,  did  not  commit  indiscriminate 
murder  of  peaceful  families,  which  is  usual,  and 
fought  with  almost  scientific  skill,  using  advance  and 
rear  guards,  skirmish  lines  and  field  fortifications.''     - 

The  Government  did  not  send  the  Chief  Joseph 
Pierced  Noses  to  their  own  country.  It  was  claimed 
that  White  Bird  had  broken  the  terms,  by  his  escape. 
At  any  rate,  the  Joseph  people  were  kept  a  long,  long 
time  in  Indian  Territory.  Many  of  them  sickened 
and  died.  They  were  mountain  Indians.  They  missed 
their  cold  streams  and  their  pure  air.  They  fell  away 
from  over  four  hundred  to  two  hundred  and  eighty. 

Chief  Joseph's  heart  broke  utterly.  He  issued  an 
appeal — his  own  story — which  was  published  in  the 
North  American  Review  magazine,  in  1879. 

*  *  If  I  cannot  go  to  my  own  home,  let  me  have  a  home 
in  some  country  where  my  people  will  not  die  so  fast. 
,  ,  .  Let  me  be  a  free  man — free  to  travel,  free  to  stop, 

328 


CHIEF  JOSEPH  GOES  TO  WAR 

free  to  work,  free  to  trade,  where  I  choose;  free  to 
choose  my  own  teachers,  free  to  follow  the  religion  of 
my  fathers,  free  to  think  and  talk  and  act  for  myself 
— and  I  will  obey  every  law  or  submit  to  the  penalty. '* 

Not  until  1884  was  he  permitted  to  return  to  the 
mountains  of  the  Northwest.  The  majority  of  his  peo- 
ple were  located  again  in  Idaho,  among  their  kindred. 
He  himself  was  placed  upon  another  reservation,  near 
Spokane,  Washington. 

He  pleaded  for  the  Wallowa  Valley — his  Valley  of 
the  Winding  Waters ;  but  that  had  been  settled  by  the 
white  men.  All  that  he  found  was  his  father's  grave. 
A  white  man  had  enclosed  it  with  a  picket  fence.  Chief 
Joseph  wept. 

He  lived  to  a  good  age.  In  1903  he  visited  the  East ; 
he  talked  with  President  Eoosevelt  and  General  Miles. 
He  met  General  Howard.  The  next  year  he  exhibited 
himself  in  an  Indian  show  at  the  St.  Louis  fair.  That 
hurt  his  pride.  He  was  ashamed  to  sell  his  face  for 
money. 

When  he  went  home,  he  was  sick.  This  September 
he  died,  on  the  Washington  reservation.  The  doctor 
asserted  that  he  died  from  a  broken  heart. 

He  was  the  last  of  the  great  chiefs  of  the  American 
Indians.  The  Historical  Society  of  the  State  of  Wash- 
ington has  erected  over  his  grave  a  noble  monument. 
Under  it  he  lies,  while  people  read  his  name,  translated : 
*  *  Thunder-rolling-in-the-mountains. ' ' 


329 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

THE  GHOST  DANCERS  AND  THE  RED  SOLDIERS 
(1889-1890) 

AND   SITTING  BULL's   LAST   MEDICINE 

IN  1889  the  Sioux,  upon  their  reservations  in  South 
Dakota,  were  much  dissatisfied.  Their  cattle  were 
dying,  their  crops  had  failed,  there  were  no  buffalo, 
and  the  Government  supplies  were  not  being  issued 
according  to  promise. 

The  Sioux  no  longer  occupied  the  Great  Sioux  reser- 
vation of  western  South  Dakota.  By  several  treaties 
they  had  sold  the  greater  portion  of  that  land.  The 
last  treaty,  signed  only  this  year,  had  left  them  five 
tracts,  as  reservations. 

On  the  Missouri  River  at  the  middle  north  line  of 
South  Dakota  there  was  the  Standing  Rock  reserva- 
tion, where  lived  Sitting  Bull  and  many  of  the  Hunk- 
papas  and  Oglalas  whom  he  had  led. 

Next  to  it,  on  the  south  was  the  Cheyenne  River 
reservation,  for  the  Miniconjous,  Without  Bows,  Two 
Kettles,  and  others. 

Then  there  was  a  wide  strip  of  land  which  had  been 
sold,  with  the  small  Lower  Brule  reservation  in  the 
east  end  of  it. 

Then,  side  by  side  against  the  Nebraska  line,  south, 
there  were  the  Rosebud  reservation,  for  the  other 

330 


GHOST  DANCERS  AND  RED  SOLDIERS 

Brules ;  and  Chief  Red  Cloud's  Pine  Ridge  reservation, 
for  his  Oglalas,  and  various  bands. 

The  Sioux  numbered  twenty-five  thousand.  The 
lands  left  to  them  were  the  poorest  of  the  lands.  White 
men  had  failed  to  make  a  living  upon  such  lands.  The 
Sioux  were  supposed  to  help  themselves  by  farming 
and  cattle  raising,  but  they  found  themselves  starving. 

Sitting  Bull  had  been  placed  upon  the  Standing  Rock 
reservation  in  May,  1883.  His  home  was  a  log  cabin 
with  a  stable  and  corral,  on  the  Grand  River  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  reservation.  He  still  kept  a  peace 
pipe,  as  sign  that  he  would  not  go  to  war. 

He  had  been  among  those  who  opposed  the  selling  of 
the  lands.  After  the  last  sale,  this  year,  he  was  asked 
what  the  Indians  thought  about  it. 

** Indians!"  he  angrily  blurted.  ** There  are  no  In- 
dians left  now  but  me." 

He  viewed  the  Sioux  police  sullenly.  These  were  a 
fine  company  of  fifty  young  Sioux  under  First  Lieu- 
tenant Bull  Head  and  Second  Lieutenant  Chatka. 
They  were  drilled  as  United  States  soldiers,  wore  the 
army  uniform  of  blue,  and  were  well  armed.  Their 
duty  was  that  of  keeping  order  for  the  Indian  agent. 
They  were  proud  of  their  trust,  and  faithful  to  it. 

Now  in  the  fall  of  1889  the  restless  Sioux  heard  a 
voice.  Their  young  people  were  being  educated  at  the 
Indian  schools  of  the  East,  and  at  the  agency  schools, 
and  were  learning  to  read  and  write. 

The  eastern  school  Indians  exchanged  letters  with 
Indian  friends  whom  they  had  met  or  of  whom  they 
knew;  the  agency  school  Indians  in  different  parts  of 

331 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

the  country  also  wrote  letters.  Word  came  by  letters 
from  the  west,  to  Sioux  at  the  Pine  Kidge  agency,  that 
beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains  a  man  who  claimed  to  be 
Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  had  appeared  upon  earth. 

The  white  people  once  had  tried  to  kill  him  by  nail- 
ing him  to  a  cross.  He  was  back  again,  to  punish  them 
for  their  treatment  of  him,  and  for  their  treatment 
of  the  Indians.  The  Indians  were  to  be  his  people, 
and  possess  the  land.    This  sounded  reasonable. 

It  aroused  curiosity  and  hope.  It  was  only  the  same 
old  story,  as  spread  by  other  prophets,  and  here  put  in 
a  little  different  form;  but  the  red  people  of  America 
had  never  yet  ceased  to  look  forward  to  a  miracle  that 
would  restore  to  them  their  game  and  their  liberty  and 
their  loved  country. 

Old  Chief  Red  Cloud,  Young-man-whose-horses-are- 
feared  and  other  head  men  of  the  Pine  Ridge  reserva- 
tion called  a  council,  to  choose  delegates  who  should 
travel  into  the  west  and  find  out  if  the  Arapahos  and 
Shoshonis  of  Wyoming  were  telling  the  truth. 

Kicking  Bear  from  the  Cheyenne  River  reservation 
and  Short  Bull  from  the  Rosebud  reservation,  were  the 
leaders  selected.  The  other  men  were  Good  Thunder, 
Flat  Iron,  Yellow  Breast,  and  Broken  Arm,  from  Pine 
Ridge. 

Without  permission  from  their  agents  they  traveled 
west  into  Wyoming,  to  talk  with  the  Arapahos  and 
Shoshonis  at  the  Fort  Washakie  reservation.  Some 
Cheyenne  delegates  from  the  Tongue  River  reserva- 
tion in  Montana  were  there  also,  seeking  information. 

The  Arapahos  and  Shoshonis  said  that  the  word  was 

332 


GHOST  DANCERS  AND  RED  SOLDIERS 

true.  The  Messiah  had  come;  he  did  not  live  among 
them,  but  was  living  west  of  the  mountains,  among  the 
Fish-eaters.  A  Bannock  Indian  had  brought  the  news 
across  to  them.  They  had  sent  men  to  see.  The  men 
had  seen  the  Messiah,  and  had  talked  with  him.  They 
had  seen  the  dances  that  he  had  ordered,  which  would 
waken  the  dead  to  life  and  populate  the  earth  again 
with  Indians. 

Porcupine  and  his  Cheyennes,  and  Kicking  Bear  and 
Short  Bull  and  their  Sioux  were  much  impressed. 
They  decided  to  go  on,  and  see  for  themselves.  So  they 
did.  They  got  on  the  train  at  Rawlins,  Wyoming,  and 
rode  all  day  and  branched  off  by  another  train,  and 
rode  still  farther,  and  arrived  at  Fort  Hall  of  Idaho, 
in  the  Bannock  country. 

From  here  the  Bannocks  guided  them  onward,  by 
train  and  by  wagon,  until  at  last  they  reached  the  coun- 
try of  the  Fish-eaters,  or  Pai-Utes,  at  Pyramid  Lake 
in  western  Nevada ! 

The  Pyramid  Lake  Fish-eaters  sent  them  south,  to 
Walker  Lake  of  the  Pai-Utes.  Here  they  met  the 
Christ,  listened  to  his  talk,  danced  the  sacred  dances, 
and  felt  that  everything  was  true. 

Kicking  Bear  and  Short  Bull  and  their  Sioux  were 
absent  from  the  Sioux  reservations  all  winter.  They 
sent  back  letters  from  Wyoming,  Utah,  Idaho  and 
Nevada,  telling  of  their  progress.  In  April,  of  1890, 
they  returned. 

They  reported  to  the  council.  They  had  seen  the 
Messiah.  Delegates  from  many  other  tribes  had  been 
there,  too.     The  Messiah  talked  to  each  tribe  in  its  own 

333 


BQYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

language.  He  bore  the  scars  of  nails,  on  his  wrists. 
He  looked  like  an  Indian,  only  lighter  in  color.  He 
taught  them  dances  called  Ghost  Dances,  which  would 
bring  the  spirit  people  back  upon  earth.  He  fell  into 
a  sleep,  and  went  to  heaven  and  saw  all  the  spirit  In- 
dians. The  earth  was  too  old ;  it  was  to  be  made  new 
and  would  stay  green  and  new,  and  the  Indians  who 
obeyed  his  teachings  and  lived  good  would  never  be 
more  than  forty  years  old,  themselves.  This  fall  all 
the  good  people  were  to  be  made  young ;  and  after  that 
they  would  be  made  young  every  spring.  Anyone  who 
had  shaken  hands  with  the  Messiah  could  call  him  in 
sleep. 

The  Sioux  delegates  told  their  story  over  and  over 
again.  At  the  Cheyenne  reservation  in  Montana,  Por- 
cupine talked  for  five  days  and  four  nights. 

There  was  indeed  a  Pai-Ute  prophet,  named  Wo- 
vo-ka  or  the  Cutter.  He  later  took  the  name  Kwo- 
hit-sauq,  or  Big  Rumbling  Belly.  To  the  white  people 
he  was  known  as  Jack  Wilson.  He  had  worked  on 
ranches  near  the  Walker  Lake  reservation,  until,  when 
he  was  about  thirty  years  old,  while  sick  with  a  fever 
he  went  into  a  trance,  during  an  eclipse  of  the  sun. 

On  waking  up,  he  said  that  he  had  been  to  heaven, 
had  visited  God  and  the  spirits,  and  had  received  com- 
mand to  preach  a  new  gospel. 

The  Pai-Utes  were  glad  to  believe  whatever  he 
claimed  for  himself.  He  seemed  to  hypnotize  them. 
The  word  that  Wo-vo-ka  was  the  Messiah  and  could 
perform  miracles  spread  through  the  Pai-Utes  of 
Nevada  and  the  Utes  of  Utah;  it  crossed  the  Sierra 

334 


GHOST  DANCERS  AND  RED  SOLDIERS 

Nevada  Mountains  into  California  on  the  west,  and  the 
Eocky  Mountains  into  Wyoming  on  the  east;  and  it 
kept  going,  east  and  north  and  south. 

This  spring  Good  Thunder,  Short  Bull,  Cloud  Horse 
and  Yellow  Knife  journeyed  to  see  the  Messiah  again. 

When  they  came  back  they  reported  that  he  had  ap- 
peared to  them  out  of  some  smoke.  He  welcomed  them, 
and  showed  them  a  land  that  bridged  the  ocean,  and 
upon  the  land  all  the  Indians  of  all  nations  were  on 
their  way  home  again. 

They  saw  lodges,  of  buffalo  hides,  in  which  the  dead 
were  living.  They  talked  with  dead  Sioux  whom  they 
had  known. 

The  Messiah  had  given  them  red  and  white  paint, 
that  would  ward  off  sickness,  renew  youth,  and  cause 
visions.  He  had  told  them  to  have  the  Sioux  send 
their  children  to  school,  and  to  attend  to  farming. 
There  was  to  be  no  fighting  with  the  white  people.  But 
the  whites  were  to  be  destroyed,  by  a  great  landslide 
that  would  cover  the  world  with  new  earth.  Upon  the 
new  earth  would  roam  the  buffalo  and  deer,  as  of  old. 
The  Indians  who  obeyed  the  Messiah  would  be  lifted 
up,  above  the  landslide,  and  gently  dropped  back  again, 
there  to  live  forever  with  all  their  friends  and  relatives 
who  had  come  with  it  from  spirit  land. 

This  reunion  was  to  occur  the  next  spring,  of  1891, 
when  the  grass  was  knee  high. 

The  Good  Thunder  party  brought  what  they  said 
was  a  piece  of  buffalo  meat.  The  Messiah  had  told 
them  that  if  on  their  way  home  they  killed  any  buffalo, 
they  were  to  leave  the  hoofs  and  tail  and  head  on  the 

335 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

prairie,  and  the  buffalo  would  spring  up,  whole,  when 
they  turned  their  backs. 

All  the  buffalo  would  act  this  way,  in  the  happy  time 
to  come. 

The  day  of  buffalo  herds  on  the  plains  was  past; 
but  the  party  asserted  that  they  did  find  a  herd,  and 
killed  one  buffalo — and  he  sprang  up,  from  the  hoofs 
and  tail  and  head,  just  as  the  Messiah  had  promised. 

The  Cheyennes,  the  Shoshonis,  the  Arapahos,  the 
Kiowas,  the  Utes,  the  Pai-Utes,  were  dancing  the 
Ghost  Dance.     The  Sioux  now  danced. 

The  Ghost  Dancers  danced  in  a  circle,  holding  hands 
and  chanting,  until  they  fell  over  and  went  to  spirit 
land.  From  the  spirits  they  brought  back  signs^  such 
as  buffalo  tails,  buffalo  meat,  and  other  things  of  an 
Indian  country. 

The  Sioux  Ghost  Dancers  wore  Ghost  shirts,  of  white 
muslin.  These  Ghost  shirts  would  turn  a  bullet;  no 
enemy  weapon  could  pierce  a  Ghost  shirt!  That  was 
the  word  of  Kicking  Bear  and  Short  Bull. 

The  Ghost  Dance  ceremonies  were  many,  and  the 
dance  was  noisy. 

Away  up  on  the  Standing  Kock  reservation,  which 
had  not  yet  joined  in  the  craze.  Sitting  Bull,  the  former 
great  medicine  leader  of  the  Sioux,  was  much  inter- 
ested. The  agent,  Mr.  James  McLaughlin,  refused  to 
permit  him  to  visit  Kicking  Bear,  the  prophet  on  the 
Cheyenne  Eiver  reservation,  south.  Kicking  Bear  was 
hard  at  it,  preaching  the  Messiah  religion  to  his  Mini- 
con  jous  and  the  other  Sioux  there. 

But  Sitting  Bull  was  anxious  to  learn.    So  he  sent 

336 


GHOST  DANCERS  AND  RED  SOLDIERS 

six  of  his  young  men  down,  to  ask  Kicking  Bear  to 
come  up  for  a  visit  at  the  Grand  Kiver  in  the  Standing 
Eock  reservation. 

Kicking  Bear  appeared,  in  October,  this  1890,  with 
several  of  his  followers,  and  preached  to  the  Sitting 
Bull  people. 

**My  brothers,  I  bring  to  you  the  promise  of  a  day 
in  which  there  will  be  no  white  man  to  lay  his  hand  on 
the  bridle  of  the  Indian's  horse;  when  the  red  men 
of  the  prairie  will  rule  the  world,  and  not  be  turned 
from  the  hunting  grounds  by  any  man.  I  bring  you 
word  from  your  fathers  the  ghosts,  that  they  are  now 
marching  to  join  you,  led  by  the  Messiah  who  came 
once  on  earth  with  the  white  men,  but  was  cast  out  and 
killed  by  them.  I  have  seen  the  wonders  of  the  spirit 
land,  and  have  talked  with  the  ghosts.  I  traveled  far, 
and  am  sent  back  with  a  message  to  tell  you  to  make 
ready  for  the  coming  of  the  Messiah  and  return  of  the 
ghosts  in  the  spring. ' ' 

This  was  the  commencement  of  Kicking  Bear's  ser- 
mon, as  reported  to  Agent  McLaughlin  by  One  Bull,  an 
Indian  policeman  who  was  Sitting  Bull's  nephew. 

Kicking  Bear  spoke  for  a  long  time.  He  told  Sitting 
Bull  everything.  The  new  earth,  that  would  bury  the 
whites,  was  to  be  five  times  the  height  of  a  man.  It 
would  be  covered  with  sweet  grass,  and  with  herds  of 
buffalo  and  ponies.  The  Pacific  Ocean  would  be  filled 
up ;  the  other  oceans  would  be  barricaded.  The  white 
man's  powder  would  not  bum,  against  the  Ghost  Danc- 
ers. The  whites  who  died  would  all  belong  to  the  Evil 
Spirit.    Only  the  Indians  would  enjoy  life,  under  the 

337 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

Good  Spirit,  with  no  white  people  to  molest  them. 

To  the  unhappy,  starving  Sioux  this  was  a  promise 
full  of  hope.  Sitting  Bull  at  once  took  the  lead  at 
Standing  Rock.  He  danced  himself,  reported  Agent 
McLaughlin,  *  *  to  mere  skin  and  bone. ''  He  introduced 
new  wrinkles  of  his  own. 

Down  at  Pine  Ridge  reservation  old  Red  Cloud  had 
adopted  the  new  belief.  On  the  Rosebud  reservation 
Short  Bull,  who  also  **had  seen  the  Messiah,''  was  mak- 
ing the  Brules  defiant.  Now  at  Standing  Rock  Sitting 
Bull  had  the  fever,  and  was  tireless. 

Kicking  Bear  proved  to  be  a  nuisance.  The  Sioux 
feared  him.  It  was  said  that  in  the  dark  there  was  a 
halo  around  his  head,  and  a  star  over  him;  that  he  had 
the  power  to  strike  unbelievers  dead,  with  a  look,  or 
change  them  into  dogs. 

Agent  McLaughlin  sent  thirteen  police  under  Ser- 
geant Crazy  Walking,  to  arrest  Kicking  Bear  and  put 
him  off  the  reservation. 

Crazy  Walking  went,  and  found  Kicking  Bear  and 
Sitting  Bull  in  the  midst  of  a  Ghost  Dancer  meeting. 
He  listened  to  the  stories,  and  was  afraid  of  the  medi- 
cine. He  returned  to  the  agency,  and  said  that  Sitting 
Bull  had  promised  that  Kicking  Bear  should  leave,  the 
next  day. 

Agent  McLaughlin  called  Second  Lieutenant  Chatka. 
Lieutenant  Chatka  had  good  sense.  He  was  a  soldier 
and  did  not  put  much  faith  in  such  ** medicine."  He 
asked  for  only  two  men,  and  rode  straight  to  Sitting 
Bull's  camp,  on  the  Grand  River,  forty  miles  south  of 
the  Agency  quarters. 

338 


GHOST  DANCERS  AND  RED  SOLDIERS 

The  Sioux  there  were  dancing — which  made  no  dif- 
ference to  Lieutenant  Chatka,  although  some  of  them 
were  his  relatives.  He  broke  through  the  circle,  told 
Kicking  Bear  and  his  Cheyenne  Kiver  reservation 
squad  that  they  must  get  out;  and  escorted  them 
twenty-five  miles  south,  to  the  line  between  the  two 
reservations. 

Thus  Lieutenant  Chatka  proved  himself  to  be  a  faith- 
ful officer. 

This  night  Sitting  Bull  snapped  his  peace  pipe  in 
two,  before  his  Ghost  Dancers.  His  heart  had  swelled 
within  him. 

**Why  did  you  break  your  pipe,  Sitting  Bull?" 

He  replied  hotly: 

**  Because  I  want  to  fight,  and  I  want  to  die,  if  need 
be,  for  this  new  religion. ' ' 

He  declared  that  the  dancing  must  continue.  The 
spirits  had  said  that  the  Sioux  must  dance  or  they 
would  lose  their  lives. 

Four  hundred  and  fifty  of  the  Standing  Eock  In- 
dians were  his  devoted  followers.  It  was  he  who  trans- 
lated the  messages  received  for  them  from  the  spirit 
world.  It  was  he  who  anointed  them,  after  the  sweat 
baths,  with  the  sacred  oil.  It  was  he  who  urged  them 
to  dance  until  they  dropped  at  the  wave  of  his  sacred 
feather.    He  was  all-powerful,  again. 

First  Lieutenant  Bull  Head,  of  the  Sioux  police, 
lived  three  miles  west  of  him,  up  river,  and  was  watch- 
ing him.  Sitting  Bull  did  not  like  to  be  watched.  The 
police  irritated  him. 

The  constant  dancing,  day  and  night,  on  the  reserva- 

339 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

tions,  alarmed  the  white  officials.    It  was  a  threat,  Uke 
the  threat  of  Tecumseh  and  the  Open  Door. 

Down  at  Pine  Kidge,  Short  Bull,  the  Messiah's 
prophet  there,  announced: 

**My  friends  and  relations:  I  will  soon  start  this 
thing  in  running  order.  I  have  told  you  that  this  would 
come  to  pass  in  two  seasons,  but  since  the  whites  are 
interfering  so  much,  I  will  advance  the  time  from  what 
my  father  has  told  me  to  do,  so  the  time  will  be  shorter. 
Therefore  you  must  not  be  afraid  of  anything.  Some 
of  my  relations  have  no  ears,  so  I  will  have  them  blown 
away.'' 

He  told  them  all  to  gather  in  one  place  and  dance 
and  make  ready.  Even  if  the  soldiers  surrounded 
them  four  deep,  no  harm  would  occur. 

At  last,  on  request  of  the  agents  at  Pine  Eidge  and 
Kosebud  the  troops  entered,  to  keep  order.  Short  Bull, 
Kicking  Bear  and  other  prophets  of  the  Messiah  led 
their  people  into  the  Bad  Lands,  in  the  northwest 
corner  of  the  Pine  Eidge  reservation,  there  to  await 
the  promised  time. 

They  had  destroyed  their  houses,  and  the  houses  in 
their  path.  Many  of  the  Sioux  who  had  not  danced 
went  with  them,  or  joined  them,  because  of  fear  of  the 
soldiers.  They  feared  being  arrested  and  held  as 
hostages.  Soon  there  were  three  thousand  of  the 
Sioux  in  the  Bad  Lands. 

This  left  Sitting  Bull  and  his  dancers  alone,  up  at 
Standing  Eock,  with  the  police  watching  them.  He 
felt  that  he  ought  to  go  to  the  Ghost  Dance  big  camp, 
in  the  Bad  Lands.    And  he  decided  that  he  would. 

340 


GHOST  DANCERS  AND  RED  SOLDIERS 

Agent  McLaughlin  had  asked  him  to  come  to  the 
agency  for  a  talk ;  but  Sitting  Bull  well  knew  that  if  he 
did  go  to  the  agency,  he  probably  would  be  arrested. 
So  he  declined. 

Next,  Agent  McLaughlin  arrived,  in  person,  and 
roundly  scolded  him  for  encouraging  the  *  ^foolish'* 
dancing. 

Sitting  Bull  proposed  to  Agent  McLaughlin  that  they 
journey  together  into  the  west ;  and  that  if  they  could 
find  no  Indians  there  who  had  seen  the  Messiah,  he 
would  tell  his  people  that  it  all  was  a  lie. 

But  Agent  McLaughlin  refused  to  do  this,  although 
it  seemed  to  be  a  fair  proposition.  When  he  rode 
away,  the  Ghost  Dancers  threatened  him;  but  Sitting 
Bull  would  permit  no  violence.  He  had  been  bathing, 
and  wore  only  his  breech-clout.  He  stood  almost 
naked  in  the  cold,  and  kept  his  people  from  attacking, 
until  the  agent  was  out  of  sight. 

Sitting  Bull  prepared  to  join  the  other  Ghost  Danc- 
ers, who  would  be  expecting  him.  His  horses  had  been 
doing  nothing.  They  were  well  fed  and  strong,  and  if 
he  got  a  head  start,  he  knew  that  he  could  keep  it.  So, 
to  show  that  his  heart  was  not  all  bad,  he  had  his  son- 
in-law,  who  could  write  a  little  in  English,  write  a  note 
to  Agent  McLaughlin. 

Bull  Ghost,  who  was  called  ^*  One-eyed  Eiley"  by  the 
white  people,  and  who  was  his  chief  assistant  in  medi- 
cine making,  took  the  note  to  the  agency.  This  was 
December  13.  The  note  said,  as  far  as  Agent  Mc- 
Laughlin could  read  it,  that  Sitting  Bull  had  decided  to 
go  to  Pine  Eidge,  in  order  to  know  more  about  the 

341 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

prayers.     He  did  not  like  to  be  called  a  fool,  and  to 
have  his  prayers  interrupted  by  gun  and  knife. 

Lieutenant  Bull  Head  was  as  smart  as  he.  The 
lieutenant  knew  exactly  what  was  in  Sitting  Bull's 
mind;  and  he,  too,  sent  a  note  to  Agent  McLaughlin, 
saying  that  if  Sitting  Bull  got  away  on  his  fresh  ponies, 
the  police  would  not  be  able  to  catch  him.  The  arrest 
ought  to  be  made  at  once. 

The  troops  already  had  been  directed  to  arrest  Sit- 
ting Bull.  **  Buffalo  BilP'  Cody,  the  famous  scout, 
had  arrived,  to  manage  the  arrest  by  help  of  the  sol- 
diers. But  Agent  McLaughlin  warned  that  if  the  sol- 
diers went  down,  there  surely  would  be  a  fight,  and 
many  persons  would  be  killed.  He  was  certain  that 
his  Indian  police  could  do  the  work  with  less  trouble. 

By  return  courier,  who  was  Second  Sergeant  Red 
Tomahawk,  this  evening  of  December  14  he  sent  orders 
in  English  and  in  Sioux,  to  Lieutenant  Bull  Head,  that 
Sitting  Bull  should  be  arrested  the  first  thing  in  the 
morning,  and  must  not  be  permitted  to  escape. 

Sergeant  Red  Tomahawk  rode  the  forty  miles  in  the 
dark,  over  a  rough  trail,  in  four  hours  and  a  quarter. 

Other  couriers  were  dispatched,  to  take  orders  to  the 
police  squads  stationed  elsewhere.  Lieutenant  Bull 
Head  was  to  have  thirty-eight  regular  police  and  four 
specials,  with  First  Sergeant  Shave  Head  as  his  as- 
sistant. 

Two  troops  of  the  Eighth  Cavalry  under  Captain 
E.  G.  Fechet  were  to  be  stationed  on  the  trail  part  way 
to  Sitting  BulPs  camp,  in  readiness  to  support  Lieu- 
tenant Bull  Head,  if  necessary. 

342 


GHOST  DANCERS  AND  RED  SOLDIERS 

The  Ghost  Dancers  had  been  guarding  Sitting  BulPs 
house,  for  several  nights ;  but  this  night  of  December 
14  they  had  danced  until  they  were  tired  out. 

When  before  sunrise  in  the  morning  Lieutenant  Bull 
Head  led  his  troops  into  the  camp,  few  persons  were 
stirring.  Before  the  camp,  which  extended  several 
miles  along  the  Grand  River,  could  pass  the  word  that 
the  police  were  there.  Lieutenant  Bull  Head  had  rapidly 
thrown  a  line  of  dismounted  police  around  the  houses 
of  Sitting  Bull. 

There  were  two  log  cabins,  one  larger  than  the  other. 
The  police  did  not  know  in  which  cabin  Sitting  Bull 
would  be  found.  Lieutenant  Bull  Head  ordered  eight 
policemen  to  enter  the  smaller  cabin ;  he  and  First  Ser- 
geant Shave  Head  and  ten  other  policemen  entered  the 
larger  cabin. 

Sitting  Bull  was  here,  asleep  on  the  floor,  with  his 
two  wives  and  his  son  Crow  Foot,  seventeen  years  old. 

His  wives  saw  the  police  standing  over  them,  and 
began  to  cry.     Sitting  Bull  sat  up. 

**  What  is  wanted?''  he  asked,  but  he  knew  very  well. 

Lieutenant  Bull  Head  briefly  told  him. 

**You  are  under  arrest,  and  must  go  to  the  agency." 

**Very  well,''  answered  Sitting  Bull,  calmly.  **I 
will  dress  and  go  with  you. ' ' 

*^ Bring  me  my  best  clothes,"  he  said  to  his  wives. 
**And  I  shall  want  my  best  horse — the  gray  horse." 

His  clothes  were  brought.  Sergeant  Shave  Head 
ordered  one  of  the  policemen  to  saddle  the  gray  horse 
and  have  it  at  the  door. 

While  he  dressed.  Sitting  Bull  began  to  complain, 

343 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

and  to  scold  the  police  for  arresting  him,  who  was  a 
Sioux  and  an  old  man,  when  they  were  Sioux,  them- 
selves. But  Lieutenant  Bull  Head  said  nothing.  He 
was  here  to  do  liis  duty. 

He  placed  himself  upon  one  side  of  Sitting  Bull,' 
First  Sergeant  Shave  Head  took  the  other  side,  Second 
Sergeant  Bed  Tomahawk  closed  in  behind;  and  they 
all  went  out. 

Now  trouble  awaited  them.  One  hundred  and  fifty 
angry  Ghost  Dancers  had  gathered.  They  were  armed, 
they  were  yelling  threats,  they  were  jostling  the  line  of 
police  and  shoving  them  about.  The  stanch  police 
were  holding  firm,  and  keeping  the  space  before  the 
door  cleared.  At  the  same  time  they  argued  with  their 
friends  and  relatives  and  acquaintances  in  the  crowd, 
telling  them  to  be  careful  and  not  cause  blood-shed. 

Sitting  Bull's  gray  horse  was  standing  in  the  cleared 
space.  He  started  for  it,  as  if  to  go  with  the  police, 
when  young  Crow  Foot,  his  son,  taunted  him. 

**You  call  yourself  a  brave  man.  You  said  you 
would  never  surrender  to  a  blue-coat,  and  now  you  give 
up  to  Indians  in  blue  clothes ! ' ' 

That  stung  Sitting  Bull.  He  resisted.  He  began 
to  speak  rapidly  to  his  Ghost  Dancers. 

**  These  police  are  taking  me  away.  You  are  more 
than  they.  You  have  guns  in  your  hands.  Are  you 
going  to  let  them  take  me  away?  All  you  have  to  do  is 
to  kill  these  men  on  either  side  of  me.  The  rest  will 
run.  Our  brothers  are  waiting  for  us  in  the  Bad 
Lands,  before  they  make  the  whites  die.  When  the 
whites  die,  only  the  Indians  will  be  left.    But  the 

344 


GHOST  DANCERS  AND  RED  SOLDIERS 

whites  mean  to  try  to  kill  us  all  first.''  Suddenly  he 
shook  an  arm  free,  and  raised  it.  *  *  Shoot ! ' '  he  cried. 
**Kill  the  police.    They  are  none  of  us!'' 

Two  of  the  Ghost  Dancers,  Catch-the-bear  and 
Strikes-the-kettle,  sprang  through  the  line  of  police, 
and  fired. 

Catch-the-bear 's  bullet  struck  Lieutenant  Bull  Head 
in  the  side.  Strikes-the-kettle 's  bullet  struck  Sergeant 
Shave  Head  in  the  stomach.  Private  Lone  Man  shot 
and  killed  Catch-the-bear.  With  his  revolver  Lieu- 
tenant Bull  Head  instantly  shot  Sitting  Bull  through 
the  body.  Eed  Tomahawk  shot  him  through  the  head. 
Then,  down  together,  fell  Sitting  Bull,  Bull  Head  and 
Shave  Head. 

Now  it  was  a  big  ^ght,  of  the  forty-one  police  against 
almost  two  hundred  Ghost  Dancers.  Lieutenant  Bull 
Head  and  First  Sergeant  Shave  Head  were  mortally 
sick  from  their  wounds ;  Second  Sergeant  Eed  Toma- 
hawk took  the  command. 

The  fighting  at  first  was  hand  to  hand,  with  clubbed 
guns  and  knives.  The  squaws  helped  the  Ghost  Dance 
men. 

**Do  not  hurt  the  women  and  children,"  shouted  Eed 
Tomahawk.  And  as  fast  as  possible  the  women  were 
grabbed  and  hustled  into  the  small  cabin. 

The  police  were  trained  soldiers,  and  used  their  re- 
volvers freely,  although  not  trying  to  kill.  They  drove 
the  Ghost  Dancers  into  the  timber  along  the  river  south 
of  the  Sitting  Bull  place. 

**I  will  run  and  tell  the  soldiers,"  cried  Hawk  Man 
No,  1. 

345 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

**Runr'  panted  Bed  Tomahawk,  to  Hawk  Man  No. 
1.    ^^Tell  the  soldiers. '' 

And  Hawk  Man  No.  1  did  run,  like  a  deer,  through 
the  storm  of  bullets.  His  uniform  was  cut,  but  he 
was  unharmed.    He  ran  eight  or  ten  miles. 

Bull  Head  and  Shave  Head  were  disabled.  Fourth 
Sergeant  Little  Eagle,  Private  Afraid-of-soldiers,  were 
lying  dead;  Special  Policeman  Hawk  Man  No.  2  and 
John  Armstrong  were  nearly  dead ;  Private  Middle  was 
bleeding  badly. 

Sitting  Bull  was  stone  dead.  So  was  young  Crow 
Foot;  so  were  Ghost  Dancers  Catch- the-bear,  Black- 
bird, Little  Assiniboin,  Chief  Spotted  Horn  Bull; 
Chief  Brave  Thunder  and  Chase,  another  Dancer,  were 
fatally  wounded. 

The  fight  had  lasted  only  a  few  minutes.  Now  the 
Eed  Tomahawk  men  carried  their  dead  and  wounded 
into  the  Sitting  Bull  large  cabin,  to  stand  off  the  Ghost 
Dancers  until  the  soldiers  came. 

They  occupied  the  corral,  too,  and  kept  the  Ghost 
Dancers  from  getting  the  ponies  that  had  been  put 
there  in  readiness  for  fleeing  to  the  Bad  Lands. 

For  two  hours  they  held  their  own,  against  the  rag- 
ing mob,  because  they  had  been  sworn  into  the  service 
of  the  United  States  Government.  But  they  did  not 
shoot  to  kill,  except  in  defense  of  their  own  lives.  They 
were  Sioux,  and  had  relatives  and  old-time  friends 
among  those  people  outside. 

When  the  cavalry  galloped  into  sight,  over  the  hill 
beyond.  Red  Tomahawk  raised  a  white  flag,  as  a  sig- 
nal.   But  the  soldiers  either  did  not  see,  or  else  thought 

346 


GHOST  DANCERS  AND  RED  SOLDIERS 

it  was  a  trick ;  for  they  brought  a  cannon  and  fired  two 
shells  at  the  cabin. 

So  Red  Tomahawk  ordered  his  men  out  of  the  cabin, 
and  mounted  them  in  line  upon  their  horses.  Then  he 
took  the  white  flag  and  rode  forward  alone,  until  the 
soldiers  saw  who  he  was,  and  that  the  men  behind  him 
were  the  loyal  police. 

The  fighting  Ghost  Dancers  ran  away.  Captain 
Fechet  did  not  pursue  them  far.  He  sent  word  to  them 
that  they  had  better  come  back,  and  they  would  not  be 
harmed.  Sitting  Bull  was  dead,  and  their  religion  had 
not  protected  them  from  bullets. 

Many  did  come  back,  cured  of  their  craze.  Only  a 
few  joined  the  Bad  Lands  Ghost  Dancers. 

When  the  news  of  the  death  of  Sitting  Bull,  by  bul- 
lets, was  carried  into  the  Bad  Lands,  and  several  lead- 
ers on  the  reservation  had  surrendered,  the  Indians  in 
the  Bad  Lands  broke  camp,  to  return  to  their  reserva- 
tions. But  some  clung  to  their  Ghost  shirts.  Their 
hearts  were  set  upon  the  promises  of  the  Messiah. 

When  they  were  gathered  near  Wounded  Knee 
Creek,  on  the  Pine  Ridge  reservation,  and  the  soldiers 
were  about  to  disarm  them,  on  the  morning  of  Decem- 
ber 29  Yellow  Bear,  one  of  the  medicine  prophets,  sud- 
denly called  upon  them  to  resist — ^now  was  the  hour — 
their  Ghost  shirts  would  make  the  soldiers  powerless. 

Young  Black  Fox,  a  Ghost  Dancer  of  the  Cheyenne 
River  reservation,  threw  up  his  gun,  from  under  his 
blanket,  and  fired  at  a  soldier.  All  the  soldiers  fired ; 
the  Indians  fought  back ;  the  machine  guns  opened ;  and 
in  a  twinkling  two  hundred  Sioux  men,  women  and 

347 


BOYS^     BOOK     OF     INDIAN     WARRIORS 

children,  and  sixty  soldiers,  were  piled,  dead  or 
wounded,  upon  the  snowy  ground. 

This  was  the  battle  of  Wounded  Knee,  and  was  the 
last  of  the  Ghost  Dancers. 

Meanwhile,  after  the  cavalry  had  rescued  the  police, 
Eed  Tomahawk  put  the  body  of  Sitting  Bull  into  a 
wagon,  and  with  two  prisoners  took  his  troop  up  to  the 
Standing  Rock  agency,  to  report. 

Little  Eagle,  Afraid-of-soldiers,  John  Armstrong 
and  Hawk  Man  No.  2  were  dead ;  Lieutenant  Bull  Head 
and  First  Sergeant  Shave  Head  died  in  the  hospital 
several  days  later.    Bull  Head  had  four  wounds. 

The  four  dead  police  were  buried  in  the  reservation 
cemetery  on  the  second  day,  December  17.  A  company 
of  the  Twenty-second  Infantry  fired  three  volleys  over 
their  graves,  and  a  great  throng  of  the  Sioux  were 
present,  to  mourn.    The  police  had  been  brave  men. 

The  police  troop  and  the  majority  of  the  other  Sioux 
there,  asked  that  Sitting  Bull  be  not  buried  in  this 
cemeteiy.  His  medicine  had  been  bad.  Therefore  this 
same  morning  he  was  buried,  wrapped  in  canvas  in  a 
neat  coffin,  in  the  military  cemetery  near  by.  His  age 
was  fifty-six. 

The  white  head-board  says  simply: 

SITTING  BULL 

Died 
December  15,  1890 

That  was  his  end,  on  this  earth ;  for,  as  far  as  known, 
he  never  came  back  from  spirit  land.  The  pretended 
Messiah's  promises  proved  false.    The  white  men  re- 

348 


GHOST  DANCERS  AND  RED  SOLDTERS 

mained  stronger  than  the  ghosts.  The  Indians  seemed 
to  have  no  ** medicine''  to  equal  the  terrible  shoot-with- 
out-loading guns  of  the  blue-coat  soldiers. 


THE  END 


349 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 


AN  INITIAL  FINE  OF  25  CENTS 

WILL  BE  ASSESSED  FOR  FAILURE  TO  RETURN 
THIS  BOOK  ON  THE  DATE  DUE.  THE  PENALTY 
WILL  INCREASE  TO  50  CENTS  ON  THE  FOURTH 
DAY  AND  TO  $1.00  ON  THE  SEVENTH  DAY 
OVERDUE. 


f-r-^  ^  ^ 


Hd^^ms 


MAY  1    1960 


JUUJL 


INTER  LIBRARY 


LOAN 


ONE  MONTH  AFTER  RECEiP 
MAR  2  8 1968 


^g^ 


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LD  21-100m-7,'40 (6936b) 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CAUFORNIA  LIBRARY 


V 


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